Diametric
by Nautica7mk
Summary: Two Clark's. One World.
1. Prologue

**Title**: Diametric  
**Author**: Nadia Mack  
**Rating**: K+  
**Disclaimer**: I Own Nothing  
**Summary**: One world. Two Clark's. Can you tell the difference?  
**Author's Notes**: I've been playing around this and thought, "hell yeah I'm gonna do it!" lol Hope you all feel the same way. Special thanks to Sonia (Sunrei) for proofreading this little fic of mine and Marcy (VisionGirl) for making that fantastic poster(s) for it. And she came up with the title too. Right on!

**Prologue**

Clark Kent arrived home looking very upbeat. He greeted his parents happily before grabbing the cordless phone and jogged up the stairs to make a call. He dialed the familiar set of numbers before he even reached the top, the other line clicking as the person he called answered.

"Hello," said a feminine voice.

Clark spoke through the receiver. "Hey Lois. Are we still up for dinner tonight?"

Lois chuckled. "You called me up for that. You know I am"

Clark smiled even wider. "I just wanted an excuse to call you that's all." He glanced at his wrist watch and noted the time. "What do you say we meet up early?"

Lois grinned. "Again?"

Clark laughs.

Even though Lois is living in Washington D.C. for the summer and Clark in Smallville, not even distance could keep them apart. They've been together for a few months now and things were going great.

"Fine," she agreed. "Just make sure daddy doesn't see you. I don't want your parents to have to pay air fare to get you back to Kansas when I know you don't need it."

Clark remembered that day clearly. It only happened last week when he super speeded across the country to see her. After spending the day together, they ran into her father, General Lane at the Lincoln Memorial and in order not to make the 3-star General suspicious, he had called his parents to buy him a one-way ticket back.

Suffice to say, it was a close call and he was glad that his parents backed him up 100.

"Don't worry. I'll be extra careful. I'll see you in ten – "

A beat.

"Minutes?" Lois finished.

Clark swooshed through his bedroom to get dressed and swooshed right out of the house, into the streets and various other states to reach his girlfriend's door. He fixed his attire and hair before ringing the doorbell.

_Ding. Dong._

The door opened and he was greeted with an amused Lois Lane on the other side, the phone still held against her ear.

"If only they built pizza delivery boys like you," she quipped offing her phone and reaching out to his belt to tug him towards her.

"Miss me?" he asked, giving her a deep kiss on the lips as he cleared the distance between them.

Lois returned his kisses with equal fervor. 

"Horribly."

* * *

At the same time but in a different world, Clark Kent arrived home looking sadder than ever. He greeted his mother with a forced smile before grabbing the cordless phone. He walked up the stairs with no urgency and made a call just as he sat on his bed. He dialed the familiar set of numbers and after a few rings, they finally answered.

"Hello."

"Hey Chloe."

"Clark? What's up?"

"I was wondering if I could come over today. There's something I needed to talk to you about."

"Okay sure, just give me a – "

Clark swooshes out of the house and swooshes in Chloe's dorm room at Metropolis University.

Chloe sighed. " – second." She could tell her best friend just went through another encounter with his girlfriend or ex-girlfriend or well… she couldn't figure it out when it comes to him. "Is everything okay?" she asked but she knew better.

Clark smiled sadly. "Not really"

Chloe cleared her side of the bed and waited for him to sit down to tell her.

"What happened?" she asked with obvious concern for her best friend. 

"We tried talking and it just – " he couldn't find the right words to describe everything that's been happening between him and Lana.

"Won't work," she guessed for him. "Clark, maybe that's just another reason why maybe you and Lana weren't meant to be…"

Clark didn't want to believe it. It's been a part of his dreams for so long that he just couldn't let it go.

"I know."

"Do you?" she asked skeptically. "You're unhappy. Lana's unhappy. And even when you were together, you still weren't happy"

"I was!"

"Not completely…"

Clark sighed. A part of him knew that she was right but that wasn't something he could acknowledge. Letting Lana go is just something he couldn't do. Not right away and not like this. Not when everything between them is a complete mess.

Chloe grabbed her book back and gave him a sympathetic smile. "Then I'm sorry for you Clark. I really am." She lays her hand briefly on his shoulder before leaving. "I've got to get to class. We'll talk more later, okay?"

Clark nodded half-heartedly.

"Okay," he said sadly.

* * *

With his right arm wrapped around her neck, Lois and Clark walked into the National Air and Space Museum, one of the many museums Washington D.C. is known for. He pressed a soft kiss on her forehead as they walked into the sight of a massively huge room with a variety of aircrafts displayed in every area.

Clark looked up and swallowed hard.

Lois notices and gives him a nudge.

"Come on. You can't honestly still be afraid of heights."

"I'm working on it," he admits wounding his pride.

The two made their way across the room and into one of many others. They reached Apollo 11, the command module that first landed astronauts on the moon.

Clark stared at it thoughtfully.

Lois watched him knowing exactly where his thoughts where at.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" she asked, breaking Clark out of his concentrative state.

"Yeah, it is."

"It's okay to think about it, you know"

Clark smiled, thankful that his girlfriend was so supportive and elated that it didn't bother her in the least bit. It thrilled him to be able to share that part of himself with her without fear of rejection.

"My dad tells me that I'm here for a reason, but I know it's something more than that."

"Oh yeah and what's that?"

Clark gives her a loving smile and then a kiss. "To find you," he said softly kissing her once more.

* * *

Clark sat alone in his loft thinking about everything that has happened since he learned what he really was. Sometimes he'd wish that he had never known. That his father would have remained steadfast and not tell him.

But he knew it couldn't be avoided forever.

Now feeling completely alone, he spends most of his days and nights here in solitude. He guessed now he knew exactly why he had called it his own 'fortress of solitude.'

Even in his solitude he couldn't escape his loneliness.

He turned to look out through his window when he noticed something strange. Different. He couldn't see any stars up in the sky. He stood up to take a closer look when he saw a sparkle.

* * *

Before heading to walk Lois back to her father's place, Clark stopped in the park overlooking the Washington Monument. He found an empty bench for them to occupy so they could watch the sun set together in the distance.

Lois cuddled into his warm embrace, lifting her legs up on the bench as her back lay against her boyfriend's chest and his arms wrapped around her.

They felt peaceful.

Happy.

In love.

Lois looked up and saw something beautiful. 

"Smallville, look up there," she pointed up into the sky with a single finger.

Clark stared at what she was pointing at and saw the sky suddenly change. A splash vibrant of colors swirled in every which way.

"Wow," he said. "Is that normal?"

"I don't know. It looks like some kind of electro static discharge"

Clark stared at her with a smirk.

Lois shrugged. "What? Just because I barely attend my geo physic's class doesn't mean I don't do the work."

Clark shook his head with a grin when suddenly; a quarter of a mile away from them, a bolt of lightning hit the ground.

"What the – "

Lois and Clark got up off the bench. Clark turns to her. "I'm gonna go and check it out. Stay here and I'll be back."

"Clark – "

"Lois, please!" he pleaded with her, squeezing her hand at the same time for reassurance. "I'll be back, I promise."

Lois nodded weakly and let him go.

* * *

Clark super speeded into the corn field, tracing where the lightning had fallen. The lights in the sky started moving again and this time, more ferocious as ever. All he could do is stand there and watch. Not knowing what was happening.

* * *

Clark kneeled down to the spot where the lightning hit letting his hand hover over it as if trying to figure out what caused it. He looked up into the sky that now looked clear before turning around and looking at the monument where Lois stood by.

Waiting.

And that's when it happened again.

Lightning pierced through the sky and hit the very spot he stood. He learned in high school that the chances of being struck by lightning are about one in three million, so just imagine what the chances are for being struck twice in the same place.

Very little.

* * *

Clark fell backwards when another strong lightning hit nearby. He got up and ran as fast as his powers would allow him.

He stopped and looked around, stalks of corn were burned to a crisp, he found himself in a huge circle that felt oddly like something he had been part of before. He stepped backwards when he hit something behind him making him fall back on the ground.

It was a body.

Clark leaned forward and gave him a light tap on the back, his clothes looking half burned.

"Hello," he said in a whisper. "Sir, are you okay?"

He x-rayed his body for any internal injuries and was surprised to see none. He was breathing too, so that meant he was alive.

Who is he?

Slowly, he moved around him to see his face.

What he saw is the last thing he ever expected.

**End of Prologue**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"How is he?"

"Still unconscious," Martha answered with a sigh of exhaustion.

The night had taken a lot from her. Clark had called her frantically on her office phone urging her to come home to the farm. Like any mother afraid for her child, she up and left as fast as she could, meeting him just as she pulled into the driveway.

_An Hour Earlier_

"Clark!" Martha yelled.

She embraced her son when she reached him to make sure he was all right. She held his face in her hands scared to ask the question that's been burdening her mind since his frantic call. 

"What's wrong?"

"I'm fine mom," he said wearily. "But there's something you need to see."

Martha is relieved that her son is physically safe.

"What is it?"

"It's… it's in the house."

Confused and a touch bit worrisome, Martha followed her son into their home.

_Present Time_

"Do you think black Kryptonite was involved?" Martha asked, her mind finally clear to ask questions.

Clark shook his head.

"I x-rayed the area and I didn't find a meteor rock in sight. Black. Green. Nothing. Whatever happened out there, I think the electrical storm did it."

"How do you know?"

"Because I've been through one before."

Martha's eyes grew wide in realization remembering one of the worst summers she had ever endured. Her family fell apart that summer. Clark gave himself to the mercy of his biological father and her husband Jonathan was left in a coma.

Tears sprung into her eyes just thinking his name.

Clark saw his mother's pain and immediately regretted bringing it up.

"I'm sorry, mom."

"Don't be. It's not your fault."

"But it was," he acknowledged sadly.

"Listen to me, Clark. We're going to figure this out together, okay? What happened to your father wasn't your fault. Okay?"

Clark nodded but Martha knew better.

"Say it."

"It's not my fault," he voiced in a whisper.

Martha cupped her son's face with her hands and repeated, "Say it."

"It wasn't my fault," he said a little louder.

Martha pulled her son into arms tightly and whispered, "It wasn't your fault. We're all victims of circumstance but you cannot let that stop you from being happy. Your father loved you and so do I."

Almost immediately, the unconscious occupant on their sofa started stirring. Neither Martha nor Clark was prepared for what was going to happen next. They didn't even know whether this person was real or something Jor-El created in order to get Clark to do its bidding.

The stranger bolted upright, his breathing erratic.

"Mom!"

Instinctively, Martha almost reached out to him but her son's hold besides her reminded her who was real to her and who wasn't.

The man who looked uncannily like the son she raised for the past 16 years turned his head around and stared her in the eye. He looked at her with deep familiarity.

"What happened? How did I get here?" It was then that he noticed another person in the room. "Who are – " He saw his face and quickly rose to take the offensive. "Get away from her!"

Clark was confused by his actions. 

"What?"

"Mom, are you okay?"

Martha was at a loss to answer. This boy. This man who looked like her son should feel like a stranger to her, but a part of her felt connected to him somehow and that confused her.

"Mom?" he repeated.

"Look!" Clark held up his hands in front of his body, showing him that he meant no harm. "My name is Clark Kent."

The stranger's face remained impassive. He stood straight with an air of confidence that Martha was only accustomed to seeing Clark wear very rarely, but to this person standing in front of them, it looked like it came naturally.

"If you're Clark, I think we have a problem," he said.

"Who are you?" Martha interrupted finally finding her voice.

The man in question looked at her surprisingly as if it was the one question he didn't anticipate her asking. He took his eyes off of them briefly to look around his surroundings and felt the familiarity of the Kent Farm become increasingly unfamiliar.

He began to notice that some things were different.

"What happened?" he chose to ask instead.

* * *

Clark buried his head with his hand to stop an impending headache. The woman he initially believed to be his mother and the son that had a striking resemblance to himself, just finished explaining what had happened in the last few hours.

"That's impossible," he concluded. "And it's not just impossible but it doesn't make any sense."

"I'm telling you the truth," the other Clark responded in an almost childlike matter.

"Okay, let's get one thing straight here before one of us passes out from confusion." A beat. "I call you Clark, you call me Kent. How's that?"

Martha sighed graciously. "That sounds perfect." She looked at Kent. "Thank you."

Kent smiled. "You're welcome."

Clark looked at the short exchange between his mother and the man who is still a stranger to him.

"Wait. Who are you, really?"

"I was in D.C. when I saw the electrical charges in the sky. The night was perfect. The sky was clear. Then suddenly, this huge bolt of lightning came out – "

"Of nowhere," Clark completed for him. "That's exactly what happened here too. I was in my loft when the lightning struck down."

"It's here too?" Kent pointed out into the barn with a carefree smile. A smile that Martha was surprised to see because as of late, that was the kind of smile she hasn't seen her son wear in a long time.

Clark nodded. "Yeah."

"Do you mind if I see it?"

Clark shrugged. Martha didn't mind at all as long as her son was with him. She didn't want to take any chances even though every instinct told her he could be trusted.

"Sure."

Kent sprinted to the door he but stopped halfway. He turned.

"Where's da… I mean, where's your dad?"

* * *

Kent reached the top of the stairs of the barn loft. His heart sank painfully when Clark and his mother told him of Jonathan Kent's death. It was obvious his passing has left an empty hole in their life.

His own mother is a strong, loving and giving person and while he knew this woman possessed all the same things, there were still a great deal more buried beneath her haunted eyes, and that hurt him deeply.

In addition to these heavy thoughts, he couldn't stop thinking about another person he unknowingly left behind.

Regret is a feeling he rarely felt and right now, he regretted leaving her side. Now he didn't even know how to get back.

What would she be thinking right now?

Would she believe he was dead?

Would she hate him?

No.

They had a greater connection than that.

It didn't matter to him what world he's in now. He's going to find a way home. With their help or not, he's going to find a way home.

Lois – to Clark _Kent_ – is home.

Being with her is where he feels the most at peace with himself. It's where he believes he can do anything.

And now being in a world that is practically the opposite of the life he has led, he didn't know what to do. This isn't his place. It's not his life. And this barn, it's certainly not his place of solitude. Not anymore.

Kent sat down on the worn out sofa. At least there were some things that didn't change. He looked at a bunch of photos on the coffee table, each one of them the same person.

A girl.

She looked familiar but he couldn't quite remember her name.

His super hearing picked up his other self climbing up the stairs. Kent continued to look through the photos, glancing at them cautiously.

"This isn't some kind of weird stalkarish thing you've got going, is it?" he asked not even looking at Clark as he made his presence known.

"I guess you have those powers too."

"Amongst other things." Kent held up the pictures. "Your girlfriend, I'm guessing."

Clark sort of half nods and then realized something peculiar.

"You don't know who she is?"

"No," Kent said, looking it over and shaking his head in disapproval. "I have a girlfriend, thank you very much and I don't need a million photos of her to know how I feel about her."

Clark's eyes perked up at the mention of his girlfriend.

"You have a girlfriend?"

"This would be the moment where I'd normally respond with, 'Am I talking to myself?' but that'll be a little too weird for me so..." Kent made a fist and thumped triumphantly against the numerous photos. "I remember her now! Lana Lang, right?"

"So you know her?"

"She asked me to the Spring Formal my freshman year," he finally remembered.

"And – "

"I said no," he said without an ounce of regret.

"You said no?"

"Are you hard of hearing, too," he remarked sarcastically. "I told you, I have a girlfriend."

"Do you love her?"

Kent smiled, thinking of her. "With everything that I am," he said, getting up and away from the coffee table to inspect the rest of the loft. He chuckled when he grabbed a picture of Clark and Chloe on his desk.

"I love this photo. I'm glad she's in your life."

Clark didn't even have time to adjust in his mind the new information that Kent has revealed about himself but he did find his own self envying his incredibly calm attitude and how he seemed to approach life with little fear.

Even when he's an entire dimension away from everything he's truly known, he adjusted fairly easily.

How could they be so different when in a lot of ways, their lives mirrored each other perfectly?

Kent stood staring at the photo of Clark and Chloe and remembered another photo that was similar. Except it was with another.

"I've got to go."

Clark's head snapped up. "What?"

"I've got to see her."

"Who?"

Kent spoke the words softly. "My girlfriend."

Then swoosh! He disappears but not without Clark following.

* * *

It didn't take long for Kent to stop at the very place he should've been at in the first place. He breathed in deeply, the Washington Monument stretching high behind him as he stared at the very bench they had been at just a few hours ago.

"Is this where it happened?" Clark asked from behind.

After Kent speeded out of the barn, Clark quickly followed. He promised his mom that he wouldn't let him out of his sight until they figured out a way to get him back home, or at least that's what they hoped.

"No." Kent turned around and pointed out into the distance. "It struck there. I was here with… with her…" he couldn't say her name. He knew it. In his mind he says it all the time, but he couldn't make himself say her name out loud.

"Then I went to check out what happened – you know – in case someone was hurt." He weakly chuckled to himself. "Turns out it's me who needs the saving."

"I'm sorry."

"I promised her I would come back." Kent sighed. "God. I could just imagine what she's thinking right now."

Despite how Clark felt about everything that's happened, he couldn't help feel sad about his situation. At least with him, he had his mom and friends here, but for Kent, he really is alone. Everything else is just a reminder of what he had.

"You really miss her."

Kent sits on the bench hoping that maybe he could feel apart of her there.

"More than you know."

He wondered if she wasn't there, then where is she? Does she exist here too or is she special only to him? He'd like to think so. Then again, he'd like to think that what they have transcended more than what they know exists.

"Let's get back to the farm. My mom's probably worried."

Kent looks up, a single tear fell from his eye.

"Okay," he answered helplessly.

**End of Chapter 1**


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes**: I just wanted to point out that there's a line in this chapter that is credited to Marcy because she created that line and I tweaked it for my use. So technically, you can say that I used it as a form of fanfic-canon. And thank you everyone who left comments. Both Clark's are the same age, they simply live in different realities in which Kent made choices that Clark should've made in his world, at least in terms of Jor-El, thus making their characters almost polar opposites.

**Chapter 2**

Martha grabbed a few blankets and a pillow from the linen closet and brought it downstairs. She spotted Kent staring at a photo of Jonathan and her heart sank all over again. She slowly spoke to get his attention.

"I thought maybe you'd like these." Martha showed him the blanket and pillow when his head turned to her. "Clark never really enjoyed sleeping on this couch and I figured you felt the same way."

"Thank you for the hospitality, but the couch is fine," Kent nodded appreciatively.

"Well, um… Goodnight then."

Kent smiled. "Goodnight." When she disappeared up the stairs, he softly uttered, "Mom."

* * *

"Clark! Wake up!"

Kent refused to get up, forcing himself to close out the noise around him when he heard a voice try to break him out of his slumber for the third time this morning. He spent most of the evening thinking he couldn't sleep and now that he finally has, he's only covered about a couple of hours.

"Clark! Listen," someone continued to nudge at him from the comfort of his sleeping position.

"I was thinking about yesterday and I wanted to apologize for being so forward with you. I just want you to know that I was just trying to be honest."

Kent finally turned, his eyes scanning the room to notice Chloe Sullivan pacing back and forth in front of the living room table. She continued to babble on about something he didn't even try to comprehend.

"And that's what friends do. They're honest with one another. And God forbid, it took you long enough with me but I'm just tired of seeing you unhappy Clark, and whether you want to see it or not, Lana doesn't make you happy."

Kent covered himself with the blanket and flipped himself over against the back of the couch to hide his face in the corner when he thought she was done.

"You got that right," he mumbled, shutting his eyes.

"What?"

Kent growled and turned around. It pained him to do this because Chloe is one of his dearest closest friends. They were practically siblings. But this life isn't his and he isn't obligated to live it.

"Look, Chloe. You're right about Lana. About everything."

"I am?"

"She doesn't make me happy."

"She doesn't?"

"I don't even like her."

Chloe's eyes go wide with surprise. "You don't?"

"She's completely – "

"Okay, that's enough!" a booming voice said over them. Kent and Chloe looked over and she saw…

"WHOA!" Chloe squeaked so loudly that the 'Men of Steel' jumped at the sound of it. "What the hell is going on here?" She looked at Clark on the sofa. "What the…" She looked up to see Clark by the stairs. "Who are…"

Thud.

Chloe fainted.

Kent leaned over the edge of the couch while Clark hurriedly went to her side.

"Don't worry, she's okay. She didn't hit her head on anything," Kent assured, giving her a brief x-ray just to make sure. "That was kind of weird."

Clark picked her up in his arms.

"Considering she expected one Clark this morning, I think she was entitled to being a little freaked about seeing two."

Kent raised his eyebrows. "She's been chasing meteor-infected humans for her entire high school career. This is the same girl who built the 'Wall of Weird' and you're telling me that seeing two of you made her faint just like that," he ended with a snap of his fingers.

"I see what you mean," Clark agreed, furrowing his brows. "That is weird."

"Clark! Kent! Breakfast is ready!" Martha called out to them from the kitchen.

Hearing their mother call their first and last name together like that was even stranger.

"I'll take her up to my room."

"No need."

Kent gets up and clears and fluffs the sofa for her.

"She can take the couch. At least this way we can keep an eye on her instead of speeding upstairs."

* * *

Chloe reached out and took another sip of the cup of coffee that Mrs. Kent was gracious enough to make for her. Twice. Clark – her Clark had just finished explaining what happened the previous night.

There are just some things in this world that just can't be believed.

Meteor freaks?

Yes.

Aliens?

Yes.

Ghosts?

Sure. Why not.

But alternate dimensions? Oh come on! Then again, how can she explain the proof in front of her? And this certainly doesn't look like a meteor-related incident as far as Clark could attest so that gave her nothing to go on.

"How are you going to get back?" she managed to ask, taking another sip of her warm coffee. She couldn't stop glancing between the two. They looked so alike.

The same dark black hair.

The bluish eyes.

The same strong jaw line.

"We don't know yet. I don't even know how I got here," Kent said taking a sip of his own cup of coffee.

"I told you. It was Jor-El. He probably did this to make me do something for him," Clark interjected.

Kent looked at him oddly. "Why would he do that?"

Clark thought maybe Kent fell harder from the sky than he thought because when he last remembered, every since he discovered those caves and Jor-El, his life has been a mess. One tragedy after another. He couldn't take it anymore.

"Jor-El has being ruining our lives since we found that cave!" he said angrily but to Kent, he didn't understand where the hostility came from.

"You're angry at the caves?"

"No! At Jor-El! At our FATHER!"

"Clark," he said softly. "Jor-El is dead. He has been for almost two decades now. That cave. That's not our biological father."

Clark gives him a demure laugh.

"Try telling that to him."

Chloe took her cue to chime in.

"Look, Kent. I'm sorry but Clark's right. Jor-El has done a lot of terrible things. The meteor shower last year is proof of one of them."

Kent's eyes shot up at the mention of a meteor shower.

"What do you mean, last year? Another meteor shower came down?"

Clark, Martha and Chloe exchanged silent glances with one another. An action that Kent himself has been a part of around his own circle of friends and family.

"You mean the second meteor shower didn't happen in your world?" Martha asked the question that Clark wasn't able to.

Kent shook his head. "No. I found the stones long before that even became a possibility. I only learned about the potential danger if the three stones of power was ever used by the wrong hands." He looked at Clark straight in the eye. "That means… you've got two Kryptonian outcasts and an incredibly dangerous artificial intelligence lose on the planet?"

Martha was left quite speechless. Chloe didn't know what to say and Clark felt like he was hit with a sledgehammer made of Kryptonite right into the gut.

"You idiot!" Kent exclaimed angrily towards Clark but then forced himself to calm down. He wasn't going to get home by pointing fingers.

Kent relaxed himself before continuing.

"It doesn't take a genius to guess what's been happening all these years here."

Clark looked away guiltily. He didn't know what it all meant and now he was fearful of discovering it now.

"Hey," Kent spoke to Clark. "Stop brooding. I don't brood. At least not that much but I've got a life to get back to and you're no good to me catatonic."

That acknowledgment didn't do much to diminish the guilt Clark was feeling. His life was finally taking its toll on him.

* * *

Kent walked into the Kawatche Caves at the same place it has always been. He looked over the walls and recalled everything he's learned about them and himself over the years. He was comfortable here even though his other self wasn't.

"How can you stand it?"

"Stand what?" Kent questioned in return.

"Being told what to do?"

"No one told me to do anything, Clark. He simply explained to me what would happen and I made a choice." Kent turned to Clark and placed an hand on his shoulder. "It just turns out one choice is better than the other."

"It's hard for me to believe that Jor-El isn't this evil person."

"Why do you keep referring to him as a person?" He turned to the wall. "Look at this place. Do you see a person? When you look at these drawings do you see Jor-El?" He paused, scratching the back of his head frustratingly. "I'm sorry to burst your bubble but this is not him. He may sound like him, he may know things, but he's not him."

"You make it look so easy though," Clark said with a mixture of envy and astonishment.

Kent shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you." He pressed the code against the wall to open the secret room like he's done many times before. "My life wasn't always easy, but I've learned to accept who I am, where I come from and the people who matters in my life."

The entrance was wide open now. Kent walked in first followed closely by Clark. His mother, under encouragement from both of the same sons, went back to work while Chloe headed to Metropolis to looking into the strange weather that occurred out of nowhere the night before.

"You ready?" Clark asked, holding the octagonal key near the key slot.

Kent nodded.

"Here we go," he said, dropping it in.

* * *

"What are you looking for?" Clark asked as he watched Kent scatter around the place as if he misplaced a pair of socks and he's looking for something underneath a couch made out of ice crystals.

"You come here a lot?" he added but Kent continued to ignore him.

Kent turned a corner and after a moment, Clark felt a sudden breeze kick up.

It felt…

Warm.

"What did you do?"

Kent threw him a smile. "Turned up the heat. This place is like a meat locker. How do you expect to have guests over when it's 20 below zero in here." He walked up into the crystal control panel and started looking through them one by one.

Everything looks the same.

Kent turned back to Clark. "Have you even tried to use this?"

Clark bit back an answer. He got the impression he wouldn't want to hear about the time he nearly destroyed this place when Professor Fine manipulated him into betraying Jor-El presumably to save his mother.

"It's not all that bad, you know. The knowledge. Understanding your past so the future doesn't repeat itself. It happens in history all the time."

"I can't when all he does is force my hand."

"Then force his," Kent said bluntly. "There's always room for compromise."

"Not with him," Clark replied in denial.

Kent shook his head, disappointed. "Then I can't help you." He turns a crystal and it activates.

* * *

"Well that was a complete waste of time," Kent said as Clark drove them through town. At that moment, he spots The Talon. "Wait!"

Clark slams on the breaks.

"What?"

"I'm hungry."

"Now?"

"What are you going to do, Clark? Beat me up?" he smirked. "In and out. I won't be long. Just take the car back to the farm. I've lived in this town my whole life, I may not know everything about your life but I know mine. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

Kent nods. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Reluctantly, Clark pressed on the gas and drove home. Once he was gone, Kent turned around to face the Talon and slowly walked to the front entrance.

Through the glass doors, he could see her.

He didn't think he would ever see anyone more beautiful.

**End of Chapter 2**


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes**: Thanks again for the feedback. **RedKaddict** Clark and Kent are two different people so I'm glad I was able to describe them easily and that readers aren't confused by the two. **Faith** Nothing is going to happen between Kent and Lana. **LucyKevinFan** it's good to hear from you again and hope you enjoy what comes. **CrannyCakeLover **I have a habit of posting updates daily. Some stories are completed and I'm just moving them here. About 3-4 of them are in hiatus and anything that's current is often written as I go along, so bare with me.** Veronica** Kent is a bit more confident and self assured than Clark so it'll be no problem for him to get to know Lois. **fpwest** I've often received that compliment and I thank you.

**Chapter 3**

Kent watched her from outside. Her hair was tied into a ponytail with a cute set of lose bangs in front. She wore an apron, something he never saw her in but her mere presence was welcomed all the same.

She smiled as she served an old couple in the far corner.

Kent found himself lost in the moment until someone touched his arm. He turned around and looked down to face a brunette girl looking at him intently.

"Clark, what are you doing here?"

"To get a cup of coffee," he answered simply. "Can I help you?"

The girl looked vaguely familiar but he couldn't quite pinpoint where he's seen her before. After a second or two, still nothing.

She stood awkwardly in front of him as he waited for her to continue whatever it was that she started.

"I'm going inside, Clark. Do you want to get coffee together?" she asked.

Then it hit him. This is Clark's girl. He had to force himself not to look in another direction; so in order to protect him and Clark, he played along.

"No, it's all right," he answered much to Lana's surprise.

Kent opened the Talon door for her to enter first. 

"I'll see you around…" he tried to remember her name. "Lana."

"Right," she said rather obnoxiously.

Lana didn't even bother going into the Talon and instead turned around and went the opposite direction.

Kent sighed in relief. 

"What was that, Smallville?" another voice startled him. He flipped around to find… "Round six of the Clark vs. Lana fight?" she continued in a sarcastic voice. Before Kent could react, she handed him a tray of orders. "Here. Make yourself useful."

Lois headed back to the counter as Kent held the tray, blinking. Instead of the normal annoyed expression that Clark would use, Kent chuckled in amusement.

"Different world. Same girl."

Kent looked at the orders he carried in his hands and looked around for a table of six. When he spotted it, he turned back to Lois and pointed to the table to make sure they were the right people to bring the orders to.

Lois looked back at Clark and nodded as he went ahead to give the table their orders in a professional and easygoing manner. She was surprised that she received little to no protest over handing the job to him.

Something was definitely up.

When he met Lois back at the counter, he almost had to hold himself from leaning in to kiss her.

"Okay, Smallville. What do you want?" she asked, wiping the counter with a cleaning cloth.

"Nothing," he said with a smile.

His answer bothered her because it wasn't the trademark smirk or look of annoyance she was used to when it came to their interactions.

"Need anymore help," he offered.

Again, she is taken aback.

"No, I'm good."

Lois moved to the register to help a customer as Kent made himself comfortable on a stool. He was content to watch her work for the next half hour until she found it too much for her nerves.

"Look!" she said with a look of annoyance that only seemed to spike his admiration for her. "What's up with you?"

Kent shrugged to show off his ignorance. "What do you mean?"

He got from their earlier yet brief interaction that she and Clark knew one another, but he got the feeling that whatever relationship they had was completely platonic if her actions were proof.

"You've got this… this… look going on," she described.

"I've got a look?"

"Yeah."

Kent smiled that it made her uneasy. He stopped to remind himself that even though she looked and acted almost the same as the Lois he knew, they weren't the same person.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"Who said you made me feel uncomfortable? What ever gave you that idea?"

Lois didn't even give him a chance to answer because now she disappeared into the back room.

Kent chuckled to himself.

That went better than he thought.

* * *

Clark hung out in his loft waiting for Kent. It's been almost an hour now and he hasn't been back. What was taking him so long? He wanted to call his mother but worrying her was the last thing he wanted to do.

As soon as the hour was up, he speeded out of the barn and ran back into town to see where he had gone.

When he reached the alleyway, he runs into Lois.

Lois opened the dumpster to throw away a bag filled with garbage. She catches sight of Clark heading towards her.

"Hey Smallville." Then she stopped. "How did you get here?"

Clark wasn't entirely sure what she was getting out.

"My mom dropped me off before she headed back to work," he answered, sticking his hands in his pocket nervously.

Lois raised an eyebrow disbelievingly. Clark Kent, the All-American farm boy was actually lying to her face.

But if that was the case then…

Who is the man in the Talon?

Lois raced inside leaving Clark momentarily confused before running after her.

"Lois, where are you, oh – "

And there he was. The other Clark, the one they've been referring to as Kent to prevent confusion. Lois stood watching him in complete and utter surprise. Her gaze drifted back and forth between them.

Things just got a lot more complicated.

* * *

"I feel a headache coming on," Lois commented as both Clarks sat in front of her explaining as much as they could after having helped closed down the Talon for the night.

Kent felt guilty for being caught. All he really wanted was to be around her, he didn't expect anything in return.

"We're still trying to figure out what happened," Clark explained waiting for his other self to chime in but for some reason, he's become incredibly quiet all of the sudden. It's a first for them since they met.

"Yeah, well, I'm having a hard time swallowing the idea of alternate dimensions. I mean; it's straight out of Sliders. Impossible."

"Anything is possible," Kent spoke, finally.

Lois and Kent stared at one another for so long that Clark worried that something was wrong. He didn't grasp what was going on; missing the level of intensity in which Kent looked at her.

Lois fidgeted under his gaze and moved to get away.

"I'm gonna finish cleaning up the place before I turn in. Lock the door when you let yourself out," she said hurriedly disappearing into the kitchen.

Kent sighed and Clark looked at him curiously.

"What happened here?"

Kent ignored his question and went about helping to clear the floors of chairs.

* * *

Just as he finished lifting all the chairs upside down on their respective tables, he turns to find Lois watching him from the corner.

"Where's Clark?"

Kent eyed her surprisingly "You can tell the difference?"

She nodded. "It's the clothes. Smallville mostly wears plaid. I swear I think he has every day of the week picked out. Red plaid on Mondays. Blue on Thursdays. Red jacket and blue shirt underneath Saturdays. Repeat process the following week."

Kent laughed. "I have a soft spot for plaid but I do have a wider selection in my closet."

Lois checked him out from top to bottom with a light smirk. He wore khaki pants and a partially buttoned up white dress shirt.

"I can see that."

After the initial shock and denial had worn off, she steadily began to give the idea of alternate realities a shot. This is Smallville so she shouldn't write it off completely.

"You know, I've been wanting to talk to you."

She laughed at him.

Kent's brows creased. "Is that funny?"

"Let's see: One, you're here. Two, you volunteered to talk. And three, you're smiling. Three things that doesn't occur at the same time when we're together, so yeah, it's a little funny."

Kent shook his head in disbelief. How could Clark be wasting his life for some girl when there's an amazing woman right in front of him?

"To be perfectly honest with you, I get along fine with the Lois in my world. We're best friends," he revealed genuinely.

Lois chuckled amusingly at the thought.

"Well like you said, anything is possible."

"Okay, guys. I just got off the phone with Chloe, she's on her way back tonight. I thought maybe we can hang out here or at the house together to wait for her," Clark said as he descended down the stairs from Lois's apartment. He noted another moment between Lois and Kent.

"Did something happen?" Clark asked.

"No!" Kent and Lois answered together simultaneously.

Clark felt like something was up but he didn't know what and the two did little to help him figure it out.

* * *

"So you're taking journalism in Met-U?" Lois asked as she drinks her second cappuccino of the night. She and Kent had been talking for the last half hour when Clark's mom called earlier about some errands needing to be done.

Kent offered to help but Clark was convinced he could do it fine on his own. To Lois's observation, Clark's been acting grumpier and moodier than usual.

"Yeah."

"Chloe must love that."

He smiled. "What about you? You never struck me as the tray holding, apron wearing type, not that there's anything wrong with that."

"Let me guess, the Lois in your world isn't a muffin peddling college dropout?"

Kent didn't fully understand entirely what she meant but he got the jest of what it could be.

He showed a weak smile. Whenever the topic, or even the mention of his Lois comes up, it makes him feel further sadder than he was before. He hated feeling like this. So unable to do anything. The only thing right now keeping him sane is being around her.

Around Lois.

"She's spending the summer with her father in D.C. She attends Met-U during the school year. She's a year a head of me."

Lois's eyes flashed with surprise at the information.

"Really?"

Kent smiled. "You're a very determined person. One of many reasons why I admire you so much."

If the earlier information surprised her, his next admission surprised her ten times more that it left her temporarily speechless.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just – your world sounds too perfect."

"Not always," he assured. "We argue a lot," he admits with a chuckle. "Half of our conversations end up in a huge blown-out-of-proportion debate."

Lois laughs. Now that was more like it.

"Lois!" 

Lois turned to see Chloe heading straight towards her.

The cousins embraced.

"They told you?"

Lois nodded. "Yeah."

"Are you okay with it?"

Lois turned back to look at Kent with a light smirk.

"I could get used to it."

Chloe raised her eyebrows. "Lo-is" she began preparing to reprimand her older cousin.

Lois looked at her guiltily. "What?"

Chloe led her to the front to speak to her quietly.

"Are you flirting with him?" she questioned in a whisper.

Lois looked aghast at the idea. 

"Are you kidding me?" she replied at the nonsense. She glanced briefly back at Kent who was now talking to Clark and then looked back at her cousin with hesitation written all over her face. Thinking of Kent… "Am I not allowed to?"

Chloe's jaw fell open.

**End of Chapter 3**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Clark twisted in bed unable to fall asleep. He couldn't stop thinking about everything that's happened lately when his hearing suddenly picked up voices nearby. He sat up and looked out his window and noticed that lights in his barn were on.

Quickly, he got dressed and speeded out of bed.

When he made his way to the front porch, that's when he saw them at the loft window.

Lois Lane and Kent.

They were talking. He didn't know what they were talking about because he was still shocked to see them there but they looked to be enjoying one another's company. Lois was laughing and so was he.

Why is he so open with her?

Slowly, he walked towards the barn careful not to get noticed.

Their voices grew louder and Clark couldn't help but focus his hearing to listen in.

"Then there was the time when you, me and Chloe tried to drive across the country," he said trying to hold in the laughter that was inevitable to be released after he finished telling her the rest of the story.

Lois grinned. "What do you mean 'tried?' Did your car break down in the driveway?"

"No, no," he assured. "We drove all right. We drove all the way to New Orleans and we ended up staying at this cheap motel for three weeks. You wanted to instill in me the joyous wonder of Mardi Gras."

"I'm so proud of myself," she said with a laugh.

"You had better be," he said in a very masculine way. "I almost had to strip naked in a bar because we ran out of money."

Lois chuckled at the thought.

"The three of us were pretty good friends, weren't we?"

"We still are," he corrected.

Lois closed her mouth shut and looked to Kent apologetically. "I'm sorry. My mouth runs faster than my mind can follow. I didn't mean to insinuate that – "

"Don't worry about it," he said with an honest smile. "I know what you mean." He paused thinking carefully what to say next. "I've learned a long time ago that I'm not alone. If I'm missing, my friends and family will look for me. And I don't give in that easily."

Lois looked to him admirably.

"You are so different from the Clark that I know."

"Take your time with him, Lois. He's going through a lot right now."

"I could give him all the time he needs, and he'll still be where he is now. Sometimes I see him and wonder why I even bother. Don't get me wrong, Kent. Clark's a great friend. One of the best. It's just sometimes he's so caught up with things he doesn't have, that he rarely takes the time to realize the things he does."

"That just shows how much you care about him."

Lois snorted in response. "That's a joke, right?"

Kent shook his head. "Not at all. It doesn't matter what version of you I'm talking to, either. You were always the kind of person who'll go far and beyond for the people you care about." He lowers his voice as he looks at her. "And you'll do it quietly and so discreetly that they never know what you've done for them."

Lois couldn't believe what he was saying because everything he described held many truths.

"You can't possibly know all that about me."

"There are some things in life that even a jump through space and time can't change."

"Who are you?"

Kent quirked an eyebrow. "Now I think it's you that's joking."

"You're like… the complete opposite of Clark."

"We're more alike than you think."

"I doubt that," she replied skeptically.

"Why do you say that?"

"I don't know," she replied honestly. "Maybe because when I talk to you, I like what I see. I like the man that you are. I know it doesn't make any sense but these last few hours – it feels like I know you."

Kent held his smile from growing wider. The past few hours just talking to Lois has given him a renewed sense of hope.

He could feel it just now that everything was going to be okay.

That he'll find his way home.

Back to her.

* * *

Clark sat on a stack of hay quietly listening to them talk as if they've been friends forever. The words each of them conveyed to one another stirred emotions in him he's never felt before.

When Kent first arrived, he felt anger at the possibility that Jor-El has once again made his move to run his life.

As soon as he realized the stranger who shared not only his face but his name was a person of genuine character, he felt jealousy.

Jealousy that he had everything he's always wanted.

His father was alive in his world.

He has choices.

A future.

And when he leaves this world and back to his, the woman he loves will be waiting for him.

It wasn't fair.

That's what he kept telling himself as he continued to listen in.

* * *

"Have you ever thought about it?"

"Thought about what?"

"What it'd be like to be with Clark."

Lois shrugged, uncomfortable with the topic of discussion. It was much more fun sharing embarrassing stories than talking about things like that, especially when Kent looked and sounded exactly like Clark.

"Why would you ask me that?"

"Just curious."

"It's not really something I've thought about," she said truthfully. "Clark and I – we've got this weird friendship, you know." She paused realizing how that sounded. "Of course you would," she added with a laugh.

Kent smiled. "There's nothing that I can't talk about with Lois. She has this innate way of knowing what I'm thinking without trying."

"Now there's a standard that'll be hard to live up to."

"You have a lot of her qualities."

"I wish I had her ability to stay in school, that would have helped me greatly," she remarked sarcastically.

"Don't do that," he said softly. "Don't trivialize your life like that."

"Why do you care so much about what I think?"

"Because I don't want you to be unhappy."

"And what makes you think I'm unhappy?"

Kent's lips turned into a smirk. "You like asking a lot of questions. Have you ever thought about going into journalism as well?"

Lois laughs at the joke.

"Not a chance."

Little did she know that Kent was being serious.

* * *

Kent's attachment to Lois was becoming increasingly more clear to Clark as their conversation went on. He didn't want to believe it at first, he didn't think it was even possible, but he should've known better than to challenge the impossible.

He normally ends up losing.

But now he was at a dilemma.

He didn't know how to feel about what he had just learned.

* * *

Kent quietly watched Lois asleep on the sofa, pulling the covers over her to keep her from freezing as the night went on. During their hours of talking, sleep finally won over her and she fell fast asleep.

He'll never get tired of seeing her like this.

So peaceful.

Beautiful.

"It's her, isn't it?"

Kent didn't look up at the sound of Clark's voice. He simply just sat there watching her, never wanting to look away because he knew that if he did, she could disappear. He didn't think he can handle the possibility of losing her twice.

"It took you long enough," he then answered.

"Why didn't you tell me it was her?"

"Is that anger I hear in your voice, Clark?"

"No. Just confusion."

Kent made sure she was comfortable one more time before turning to face Clark. He gestured to the outside, he didn't want to have this conversation in fear that it'll wake Lois up.

* * *

"Why her?" Clark asked naively.

Kent looked at him like he was crazy.

"Why Lana?" Kent retorted.

Clark paused and had to think of an answer first before answering while Kent felt the urge to roll his eyes but he wasn't that kind of person.

"I've loved her for as long as I can remember."

"Yeah. And a lot of good that did you," Kent responded sarcastically.

"Well, you haven't answered me about Lois. Why her?" Clark continued to press, he was upset at the way Kent always seemed to belittle his feelings for Lana. Now it was time that Kent gave a little too or he was just making himself out to be as bad as he is.

Kent smiled to himself, looking as if he just remembered a fond memory.

"Why? Because she's smart, beautiful… and she makes me laugh," he explains with a wide smile. "Because when she smiles the whole world does too. And whenever I need help she holds out her hand and never asks why. I trust her with my life. My heart. My soul."

A tear falls from his eyes but he wipes it away before it hit the ground.

"I love her so much," he professed with all the emotion he's held inside since the night the thunderstorm came.

"Tell me, Clark. Is that how you feel about Lana?"

Clark's silence answered his question.

"I didn't think so."

Clark wanted to scream. Tell him that he was wrong. That Lana was everything to him, but now, after all the years he's dreamed of being with her, the time that he was with her all the way to the months following their break up.

That's when Clark admitted to himself.

She's never made him laugh.

**End of Chapter 4**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Four days.

That's how long it has been since Kent's unprecedented arrival into another world. A world that almost mirrors his own.

Now if he could only find his way back.

* * *

"Mrs. Kent, can you pass the orange juice?" Lois asked politely.

Lois had an open invitation to come over for breakfast in the Kent home anytime, and for the last couple of days, she's been spending a lot of time at the farm and with a particularly special guest.

"Sure, Lois."

Martha reached for the pitcher but her son beats her to it.

"I got it, mom!"

Martha looked at him with surprise and so did Lois when Clark refilled her drink for her. Kent on the other hand simply sat back and smiled knowingly.

"Thanks," Lois said awkwardly.

Clark let out a small smile. "You're welcome."

Lois didn't know what's gotten into Clark all morning. He was being nice and cordial and all those things that she knew he wasn't whenever they're around each other.

She concluded that there was a possibility that he was feeling a tad bit jealous because everyone's attention has been towards another version of him. A version, much to her dismay, she enjoyed being around.

After an excruciatingly long silence, Lois decided to break it.

"So. Any progress in getting home?" she aimed her question towards Kent.

Kent took a bite out of his toasted wheat bread and shook his head sadly.

"Afraid not. We've been going to the Fortress to get information, but we haven't found anything useful."

Clark nearly choked from his milk and Martha looked gravely nervous at the mention of the Arctic Fortress, leaving Lois incredibly confused by the mention and everyone's reaction to it.

"Fortress?" she repeated. "You mean the loft?"

Kent's eyes shot up and he realized his slip. He spoke up to cover their tracks.

"Yeah. That fortress," he confirmed with a chuckle. "I keep forgetting it's a loft."

Lois thought something was up and in this house, it normally is, but she decided not to press on the matter because in all likelihood, she wasn't going to completely understand until one of them explains it to her.

"Okay."

Martha and Clark let out silent sighs of relief which was soon followed by the clinking sound of forks and spoons hitting the plates as family and friend continued to finish breakfast.

* * *

"Whew! That was a close call," Kent said as he and Clark took to clearing the table.

Clark's mind seemed elsewhere.

Kent notices this.

"You all right?"

Clark stopped halfway to the sink with a stack of dirty plates he put together at the table. He looked to Kent with so many questions, one especially.

"She knows what you are."

Kent was happy that he was finally piecing things together on his own, even when they were unintentional.

"By that, if you mean that she knows of my Kryptonian lineage, then yes. She does," he confirms. "How else am I going to see her every weekend when she's in D.C. all summer?" he adds jokingly.

In truth, she had known about it the night they first had their first date.

"Four days without her is brutal as it is, there's no way I'm spending three whole months without seeing her."

Another pang of jealousy struck Clark unexpectedly.

"It must be nice," he said finally placing the dirty dishes into the warm soap filled sink.

Kent saw his demeanor change and he quickly regretted telling him any of this at all.

"Look, Clark. This isn't a competition between us. We both live different lives. I'm not trying to throw this in your face or anything."

"Forget about it. I understand."

Kent sighed at his stubbornness. Things have become a lot more complicated now than they were when he first arrived.

* * *

Outside, Lois was reluctantly playing Frisbee with Shelby after the big golden mutt kept coming to her with it. The dog followed her everywhere and she quickly succumbed to his advances.

"Here you go, you annoying mutt that makes me sneeze," she said as she flung the Frisbee across the yard, which was followed by a sneeze. "Achoo!"

Lois sighed.

She hated her allergies.

Kent chuckled at the front porch, watching her and Shelby would have to be one of the funnier moments of this out-of-this-world trip.

"Tell me I don't have allergies in your world."

"Unfortunately, that's just one other thing that hasn't changed. Sorry." Kent makes his way towards her alongside a tail-wagging Shelby, the Frisbee in his mouth. He kneeled down. "Good boy!" he said patting the dog. "He loves you in my world too."

Lois rolled her eyes. "That's just great!"

Kent chuckled and turned to Shelby. "In her heart I know she means well."

Lois grabs the Frisbee from Shelby and hits Kent with it.

"Very funny!"

Crack! The Frisbee broke in half. Lois stared at it blankly just when Clark exited the front porch. She quickly drops it with a sad sounding Shelby staring at it.

"It wasn't me!" she quickly defends herself.

Kent tried to hold in his impending laughter.

Clark glares at her.

Lois knew she didn't put enough force into the hit to make it break so she thought of the only thing that would make sense.

"It's really old. It was bound to break sooner or later."

Kent starts to laugh. "I'm gonna head to the loft, I'll let you two debate over the Frisbee's lifespan," he said before heading off into the direction of the barn.

Lois and Clark stood staring at one another awkwardly before Lois turned to watch Kent walk away.

Clark bridges the gap between them.

"Can you try not to flirt with him? He does have a girlfriend, you know."

Clark sounded a bit harsher than he intended.

"No he doesn't," she denied the possibility only because she felt like getting on the annoyed side of Smallville. "And what makes you think I'm flirting with him?"

"Oh come on, Lois. You've been so obvious."

"Like…"

"You're here all the time."

"So? I'm always here."

"And you're always talking to him."

"And your problem would be..."

Clark sighed. "It makes me… it bothers me that's all," he finally had the guts to admit.

And it was the truth. Seeing Lois and Kent growing closer by the day bothers him more than he cared to acknowledge. He didn't even know where that kind of emotion was stemming from.

Maybe it was the knowledge that in another world, Lois Lane meant the world to him.

He just couldn't understand why, because in his world, he could barely understand her. She's always so forward. She rarely talks about herself. And she only does things when his mom or Chloe asks her to. 

What was so special about her that has Kent describing her so perfectly?

Then…

"AH!" she screamed lightheartedly as Shelby slobbers her with kisses. She had tried to play with Shelby with half of the Frisbee but instead, the happy golden retriever decided to have fun with her instead.

There was a mixture of quips and laughter and…

That's when he saw it.

Her smile.

It lit up the world.

* * *

"I hate dogs," she said, walking tiredly into the living room.

"No you don't," Clark debunked.

"Yes. I do."

Clark knew that no person spends that much time with an animal and not like them. She's just being stubborn as usual. She even talks to Shelby. And if their morning jogs were any indication, he'd think that Lois has found a best friend in their loyal dog.

Because really, that's what Shelby was.

Their dog.

Lois found him – or more specifically – hit him. And if she never had brought him to the farm, he wouldn't have Shelby in his life.

Thinking of what happened then, Clark didn't think he ever thanked her for bringing Shelby into their life.

Clark looked at Lois who was just about to head up the stairs. He reached out and lightly touched her hand on the banister.

"Hey."

Lois turned to him but not before looking down on where his hand was. She quickly slid it away, her move making Clark flinch a little.

A reaction he didn't expect.

"What is it, Smallville?"

Clark sighed. "Would it kill you to call me by name?"

"You really want me to answer that?"

Clark backs out.

"Nevermind."

Lois starts to go back up.

"Wait!"

Lois sighed, stopping and turning to Clark looking slightly annoyed.

"What?"

Clark takes a deep breath and says, "Thank you." There. He said it. Now everything should go back to normal between them.

Lois looked at him oddly.

Maybe not, he thought.

Lois didn't return with a 'you're welcome.' She just turned and walked up the stairs and into the bathroom. The door slamming shut which was followed by the sound of running water in the bathtub.

Clark's eyes stared aimlessly up the stairs when Kent appeared behind him.

"I'll give you a point 6 on the dismount and a 3.5 on the landing," he comments with an amused smile.

"Should I be feeling this way?" Clark asked, his eyes still facing up the stairs.

"What are you feeling?"

"Like I'm nervous about something, but I'm not entirely sure what it is."

"Some people call it butterflies."

Then Kent gives him a pat on the back.

"That's usually how the feeling starts," he said knowingly, walking back outside to the loft.

Kent figured that if he left Clark alone, he would stop brooding and start thinking of all the possibilities that surrounded him.

Maybe there's hope left in him still.

**End of Chapter 5**


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Day Six.

Kent is going a little crazy.

He misses his life. His friends. His family. Most of all, he missed his girlfriend.

Everyone saw it.

Especially Clark and for a while, he knew that being around Lois of his world was enough to help him get through the loneliness he was feeling but now, he believed, being around Lois was a painful reminder of what he lost.

It was a feeling Clark could relate to.

* * *

Alone, Kent stood against the wall staring out into the window as the rain poured hard against the glass. In his hand was a photo. Something to help keep him grounded.

Or to help him from losing his mind.

With all the powers he possessed, he's never wanted anything more that to use it to find his way back.

"Can you tell me about her?"

Kent is startled for the first time. 

"Excuse me."

Clark stood in front of him with his arms crossed.

"About Lois, I mean. Can you tell me about her?"

Kent weakly smiled. "What for? All you have to do is get to know her and you'll know exactly the kind of woman that she is."

Clark let out a nervous chuckle. "That's easier said than done. She's not exactly easy to open up, especially if it's about herself."

Having been there himself, Kent nodded understandingly.

"You'd be surprised. Lois has always been hard headed, even when we're together. She hates being told what to do. It's how she grew up. Having no one to lean on for so long, it taught her independence. When I finally broke through to her… when she finally trusted me enough, she opened her heart to me and my life has never been the same."

Kent smiled thoughtfully just thinking of her, forgetting for moment that he wasn't talking to another version of himself in world he didn't belong in.

"I envy you," Clark admitted unintentionally bringing Kent back down to reality.

Kent didn't respond to that one in particular but he did hand Clark the photo he's been staring at for the last few days.

Clark reluctantly took it from him and was surprised by the warm feelings that erupted inside of him as he looked at the photo of Kent and Lois holding one another on a bridge above a river colored green.

"It was taken in Chicago last spring. It was a gift from her after I a short story I wrote was published. I like to write in my spare time and she encouraged me to share it with people."

Clark smiled and immediately knew that would be the kind of thing Lois would do. He looked back at the happy couple in the photo and smiled some more, the envy he felt moments ago were replaced with longing. He's always known that Lois was beautiful but he never really let himself think of her any other way.

"You two look very happy."

Kent smiled looking over at the photo too.

"Yeah. We were there during St. Patrick's Day weekend when they dyed the river green. We shared our first kiss in that city. A couple of months later, I finally got the courage to ask her out and she said yes." He laughed just thinking about what he was going to say next. "After our date, I told her about myself and she slapped me."

Clark's eyes go wide. "She slapped you?"

Kent chuckled at his reaction. "At first, she did. Then she kissed me. It all worked out."

"Wow."

"Yeah. She's one of a kind."

HONK! HONK!

A red Fusion pulled into the driveway. Lois and Mrs. Kent exited the vehicle under heavy rainfall. Kent quickly made his way out to help and Clark went to follow. In their haste, neither noticed the photo that belonged to Kent was left alone on the windowsill.

* * *

Thunder boomed loudly across the sky as Clark and Kent helped the ladies bring their things in the house.

When they were all in the house, Mrs. Kent remembered something she left behind.

"Wait. I've got to go back out."

"No, mom. I got it. It's pouring hard outside," Clark insisted instead.

Martha nodded. "It's my briefcase in the back seat."

"Okay."

Meanwhile, Kent provided Lois with a dry towel.

"I don't get you two," she observed.

"Get what?" he wondered curiously.

"I've been around Smallville long enough to notice a few things, and one of those things is his complete immunity to the change of weather. It could be freezing and he wouldn't be shaking. You're like that too."

Kent shrugged. "Strong genes, I guess," he lied abhorredly. It wasn't a good feeling.

"Right." Lois turned back. "Hey, where's Clark?"

"Oh, he just went to grab my briefcase."

Lois nodded and headed towards the window, moving the curtains sideways to get a better view of the driveway. She didn't see Clark outside.

"Mrs. Kent!" she yelled. "Clark isn't – " she picked up a photograph from the corner of the windowsill and her mind went still, but Martha's voice took her out of her frozen state.

"What's wrong, Lois?"

Lois spun around stuffing the photograph into her left back pocket and stared at the woman who she has regarded as a mother since coming to this small town.

"Clark. He's not out there."

"What?" Kent interjected.

Martha face turned alarmed.

"Maybe he went to the barn," Lois assumed.

"I'll check it out," said Kent and left the house immediately. He ran in real time into the barn and saw Clark nowhere in his sight. He begins to grow worried. Clutching a fistful of hair from the back of his head, he wonders out loud where he could be.

"Come on, Clark. Where the hell did you go?" he muttered to nobody.

Then it happened again.

The sky cleared and the colors in the sky reappeared.

Kent rushed to the window and focused his vision out into the field and towards the spot that Clark had found him in.

And there he was.

He stood motionless looking up in the sky.

Kent didn't know what he was doing.

"CLARK!" he called out to him in hopes that his super hearing would pick up on it.

But nothing.

Without another second wasted, he super speeded out of there but it was too late. As soon as he did, a huge bolt of lightning struck down from the sky.

"NOOOO! CLARK!"

He stopped at precisely the spot he was in and found nothing.

Not a trace of Clark Kent.

Kent fell to his knees and traced the spot he should've been in. Swallowing hard, he looked up into the dark skies. The storm is dying out and he was alone.

"Oh no."

* * *

"Mister. Mister, are you all right?"

Clark opened his eyes and found himself lying next to some concrete structure. He tried to move but it felt like he got beat up with a hammer made of Kryptonite. He looked around and blinked several times to clear his vision when he felt another light touch against his shoulder.

"Mister?"

Clark pushed himself up, leaning against the white concrete wall for support.

"Mister. I'm sorry, but you're not suppose to be here."

Clark shook away the feeling of nausea. He tried his best to focus. He looked at a middle-aged Caucasian with a broom in his hand and wondered who he was and what he was doing here. Once he got up, he looked at the white wall that he had his hand rested on and couldn't help but look up, up and up.

It was over 500 feet high.

Fifty feet wide.

Clark gulped because he's seen this place before.

He knew where he was.

And it's not Kansas.

* * *

"What do you mean he's gone?" Martha asked her voice shaken by what Kent had just finished telling her.

Clark was gone.

Disappeared.

She felt Lois's hand intertwine with her own and for a moment, she allowed herself the comfort and support.

"It's gonna be okay," the young woman said softly.

Martha's hand trembled in response.

Lois looked at Kent, her eyes boring into his, hoping that there was a way to fix this. To get him back. For the first time since learning everything that has happened here, she wanted Clark back where he belonged.

Home.

Kent's eyes glistened with unshed tears.

He didn't know what to do.

* * *

Clark speeded back to Smallville, slowing his arrival before he hit the entrance to the family farm. He still wasn't quite sure what happened and how he got to Washington but he was hoping Kent was here to explain to him.

He rushed through the front porch, passing a barking Shelby along the way.

"MOM! KENT!"

The place was quiet. He saw the truck outside so he knew that someone was home. He tried again.

"MOM! ANYBODY HOME!"

"OH MY GOD, CLARK!" yelled a woman from the back yard. The screen door opened from the kitchen where his mother appeared.

She runs to him, embracing him tightly.

"Oh sweetheart, you're okay!" she said with tears springing in her eyes. "Your father and I were so worried."

"Dad?"

"SON!" The front door opened and closed.

Clark froze at the sound of his voice.

It couldn't be.

Slowly, he turned around and he faced the last person he knew for a fact he would never be able to see.

His father.

Softly, he says "Dad?"

Clark's knees weakened and he nearly collapsed against the floor if his father hadn't been there to keep him from falling.

"Son, you're all right. Oh thank God," he whispered in his ear as he hugged his son protectively. "We've been looking for you."

Martha stood behind wiping her tears before joining them as Clark continued to cry, holding his father a little tighter like he was afraid that he'll disappear.

"I missed… I missed you so much."

Clark did little to stifle his tears.

"It's okay son, I'm right here," Jonathan soothed, holding his son lovingly as he always had when he and Martha first brought him home. He let go of his son briefly, holding his face in his hands. "Everything's going to be okay."

"You're back, and that's all that matters," Martha added.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Mrs. Kent," a woman said as she opened the front door carrying a dozen box of donuts form Crispy Krème. "I brought some – " and then the contents in her hands fell to the ground as she saw whom the Kent's held in their close embrace.

Clark saw her and froze all over again.

His parents slowly helped him up to his feet as he stared at the woman who looked back at him in a way he's never been looked at before.

Love.

"Clark," she uttered softly, finding her voice.

"Lo – " before he could even finish, Lois Lane assaulted his lips with a passionate kiss.

**End of Chapter 6**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

They were sitting on the sofa, his mother in the kitchen warming up hot chocolate on the stove while his – his father went upstairs to get some clothes for him. Despite his attire looking war torn, he was completely drenched from head to toe.

"You're shaking," Lois said with a soft voice.

She touched his forehead with the palm of her hand which then slowly slid down to his cheek. Her hand felt so warm that he held it there when she was about to move it away.

"Don't!" he whispered pleadingly.

"It's okay," she said, hiding her worry.

Just then, Jonathan came down the stairs with a new set of clothes for him and handed them to Lois.

"Here you go."

Clark was afraid to look up and face his father in fear that he'll break down crying again. 

"Thanks," he uttered, it voice barely above a whisper.

Jonathan nodded and silently allowed Lois to go help Clark up the stairs. He knew that whatever his son had just been through scared him, and he didn't want to appear insensitive. He was just so worried about him.

Like any father would be.

* * *

Lois led him up the stairs and into the bathroom, closing the door after they were both inside.

Clark followed her blindly without uttering a single word. He didn't know what to say but he had a feeling that she didn't expect him to.

"Here," she said, gesturing for him to sit down on the closed toilet seat.

Clark found himself doing exactly what she said with no argument. He choked back the urge to cry as he focused on his still shaking hands. They hadn't stopped doing that since he felt his father's arms wrap around him.

Her hands moved to his buttoned up red-checkered plaid shirt, undoing each button one by one.

Clark watched her every movement with intense curiosity.

After the first layer was off, her hands dropped to his hips pulling out the damp white shirt he had left on.

Before he realized what he was doing, he lifted both his arms up over his head as she slipped it off in one fluid movement.

He didn't know whether this was something they did often but he liked the feeling, even though it was wrong for him to feel it. For Lois, she believed him to be the man she fell in love with.

In reality, he was an imposter.

Clark knew this but he so gravely wished he didn't.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

Clark was amazed. On the outside, she was strong and calm and patient, but even he knew that behind the love shown so obvious in her eyes lies concern. Questions. Possibly even fear, but he wasn't entirely certain.

"Better," he answered weakly.

Lois nodded, showing a small smile. 

"Good."

She wore her hair down. Clark has always liked it when she had it down and he was surprised to be able to look her straight in the eye without feeling afraid of what she sees.

"You're beautiful."

It suddenly felt natural for him to say it.

She took his shaking hand and held it between her own before leaning down to kiss the back of it softly.

"We were worried," she said in a low voice. "I couldn't find you. I thought maybe that you – "

Clark leaned in to kiss her, stopping her from completing her thoughts and let himself get lost in the comfort of her warmth.

Is this how it felt like to be loved?

In a moment of selfishness, he gave in.

Kissing her wasn't what he thought it would be. 

It was more.

When he let out a small groan the memories of his life caved in and he knew he had gone too far.

"Wait, I'm sorry," he said, breaking apart from her.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know," he said truthfully. "I want to be… but it isn't right."

Lois looked confused. She didn't know what he was trying to say. As far as she can tell, he was physically fine but she didn't know his exact circumstance to make a rational assessment on his state of mind.

"It's okay. Everything's going to be okay."

Her words were meant to comfort him, but she didn't know.

Nobody knew.

He's not the man she thinks he is.

* * *

Lois descended the stairs where Martha and Jonathan waited anxiously for her. The young woman sent them a small smile as Mrs. Kent handed her an extra-made cup of hot chocolate.

"How is he?" Martha asked in motherly concern.

"Has he said anything?" Jonathan added as well.

Lois shook her head. "Not really. He was quiet almost the entire time. He seemed spooked."

"Spooked," Jonathan repeated.

"What do you mean?" asked Martha.

"Something happened and he's afraid to talk about it right now. I didn't want to push him to say anything so I helped him to this room," she let out a breath. "He's asleep now."

"What do you think happened?" asked Martha.

"I don't know, Mrs. Kent. I'm hoping when he's ready, he'll tell us."

"That's probably a good idea. We should all get some sleep too. Martha and I could each take turns watching – "

"Do you mind if I stay with him for the night?" Lois interrupted.

Martha and Jonathan traded brief looks of contemplation. It was the wrong time to think it but as parents, it couldn't be helped. But they also knew that they trusted Lois Lane so the answer was made quickly.

"Sure," said Martha.

Lois exhaled. "Thanks." She hugged them both before climbing back up the stairs and into Clark's room.

Jonathan looked to his wife. "You think we should've done that?"

"We can't protect them forever, Jonathan. Just let them be together. Clark needs it and so does Lois."

"I know." Jonathan kissed his wife's forehead while holding her close. "You're right."

"I'm always right," she said with a smile, the anxiety in which they lived in the past few days after their son's disappearance slowly disappears.

If only they knew.

* * *

Clark watched her sleep beside him. He woke up a couple of hours ago with a headache when he surprisingly finds himself holding Lois in his arms. For a moment, he wondered if his parents knew.

He figured they did because there was no way they'd let a girl sleep in his room let alone with himself without their consent.

So he watched her. Remembering every feature on her face, the way her lips curled into a slight smile as if she was having a good dream.

She probably was.

Kent's a lucky man to wake up every morning to this.

This woman.

This life.

His parents were safe and happy in a room down the hall. He had a girlfriend that knew everything about him and doesn't love him any less because of it. 

It was all so unexpected.

It felt like a drug being here with them.

He didn't want it to end.

He was afraid he couldn't let it go.

He knew though that this was not his life to claim. If anything, he had to make things right back home in order to have anything near to what Kent had, but first, he had to find a way to get back; and he needed to do it fast because the longer he stayed, the more tempted he was never to leave.

His conscience couldn't hold that kind of responsibility.

"This is new," her voice suddenly broke through the silence taking him out of his thoughts in the process. "You're up early."

What should he say?

"How did you know I was awake?"

Her left hand snaked up to his chest and settled right on top of his heart.

"It's beating fast," she pointed out softly.

Clark was so caught off guard by his inner thoughts, he didn't even notice his heart was racing.

"Oh."

Lois chuckled softly brushing a hand through her hair.

"God, I must look terrible."

She tried to get up but gave up when Clark's still arms kept her from moving an inch.

"I don't think so. I'm sure God doesn't either."

Lois smiled and it warmed his heart even further than he ever imagined. His hand touched her cheek, letting it brush against her soft skin.

"You're eyes are so green," he noticed for the first time.

Lois thought it was an odd observation because he already knew that, but she quickly brushed it off. He's been gone for almost a week. Six days twenty hours and 32 minutes.

She couldn't help but count the seconds he'd been gone.

She was so scared that something truly terrible happened to him. And she doesn't get scared easily.

It's an annoying side effect of falling in love with Clark Kent.

After a moment, she began to grow sleepy again.

Clark simply smiled as he watched her fall asleep. He wished she could stay up and talk more but he knew he was pushing his luck.

* * *

While Lois continued to sleep, Clark slowly and quietly _and_ reluctantly slid away from her embrace. He walked around his bedroom, marveling both at the similarities and differences between him and Kent.

There was a photo album on his desk and he sat to take a look at it.

As he flipped each page, he saw a life he could've had pass him by.

Pete was in them, all the way up to graduation. In one photo, Chloe stood between them with all smiles. Their whole lives were ahead of them and they were happy to take it on.

Envy crept back up through the tiny cracks of his emotions but he quickly squashed it away.

Not now.

Jealousy won't get him home and it won't make things right.

After a few pages, he couldn't take looking at any more of the photos so he shut it close. He moved away from the desk and let his eyes linger on something he was familiar with.

Astronomy.

More importantly, it was a telescope.

But it wasn't just any telescope. It was a Ritchey-Chretien (RC). He couldn't believe he had one in his room. It's one of the more expensive and advanced models to date for amateur astronomers.

How could his parents afford this?

Then he caught the sight of an inscription alongside the side of the scope. He read it aloud but his voice remained at a whisper.

"_We all fall from the stars and into the arms of strangers."  
With all my love, Lois Lane_

Just when he thought that she couldn't surprise him anymore than she already has, he had to find this.

**End of Chapter 7**


	9. Chapter 8

**Author's Notes**: Thanks everyone for your continued support and all the other things in between. My apologies for the delay. was funky this morning, it wouldn't upload right and I was on a business trip since Wednesday so things have been a bit hectic for me lately. This story will be completed.

**Chapter 8**

She took tentative steps up the wooden stairs of his loft. As she ascended higher and higher she could see Kent staring aimlessly into the sky, the sun rising overhead. Something told her that whatever questions he had in his mind, he'll find the answers out there.

"Breakfast's ready," Lois announced.

Kent didn't acknowledge her presence and thought maybe she should leave him alone.

Fortunately, she didn't because this world she apparently lived in has a way of making all Clark Kent's brood.

When he returned from the fields last night without Clark, she and Mrs. Kent knew immediately what may have happened. Mrs. Kent kept herself as busy as possible the moment she woke up, cooking them breakfast that could feed an entire platoon. She wasn't ready to acknowledge that her son could be truly gone.

"It wasn't your fault."

Another wave of silence flew between them.

"I'm here," she started, stopping in between her thoughts. "If you need me." She paused again. "I don't mind listening." She was rocking on her heel now, waiting. "You can yell at me if you want, it'll get some of that anger out. I've done it myself – not to me of course – anyway, it's cathartic."

Kent chuckled.

Even when things looked bleak and the world felt like it was fighting against you, Lois always knew how to make him smile.

Lois's eyes darted away briefly before looking back at him, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

"What?" she asked.

Kent shook his head. "Nothing. I love it when you babble like that."

"I don't babble," she said flatly.

"Are you kidding? You're a brook."

Lois's eyebrows narrowed.

"A what? I'm a what?"

Kent smiled. "Thank you."

Lois shrugged. "Any time."

* * *

Lois woke up to the side of an empty bed. She left Clark's room and headed downstairs to see Mr. and Mrs. Kent having coffee together in the kitchen.

"Where's Clark?" she asked.

Martha smiled weakly before facing her husband.

"He's been at the barn all morning," Jonathan revealed. "I tried talking to him but he seems afraid to be around me. I'm not really sure why though."

Lois inhaled deeply, reality calling forth for her to charge into the barn loft and deal with whatever is happening head on.

"I'll check it out," she said, exiting the kitchen before Mr. or Mrs. Kent had time to protest.

By the time Lois reached the loft, she found Clark on the ground trying to piece his old telescope together.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she took in the scene before her.

Clark tried not to focus his attention to her in fear he'll get lost in the dream all over again.

"What happened to this?"

"I took it apart," she answered.

It definitely hit a nerve because now his head snapped up and looked at her with unfamiliarity.

"Why?"

"I got bored yesterday so I decided to clean your optics. It seemed like the thing to do at the time. I was gonna put it back together."

Clark sighed and looked away. "I'm sorry. I've had a lot on my mind."

"I can tell."

It's been a long time since he put together a telescope from mere pieces before, and without the instructions, it made it even harder for him. All he could do now is piece it back together like a puzzle in hopes the piece fits. And in the back of his mind, he hoped he didn't look like an idiot in front of her.

He could feel Lois's grinning smile.

Frustrated when two pieces won't connect, he dropped it and sighed.

"You're better at this than I am," he confessed.

Lois laughed disjointedly. He was the one who taught her how to take it apart and put it back together in the first place.

"Are you okay?" she asked seriously.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be," he said avoiding eye contact.

"You've been pretty distant all night, and from what your parents can tell, all morning too."

"It's nothing."

"You were gone for almost a week, Clark," she reminded him, setting them both back down to reality.

"I know," he lied.

This is new for Lois. She's not used to her boyfriend hiding from her. Even when they first met, he expressed how he felt about her very openly. Their flirting, as Chloe described it, was that of a 'fireworks variety.' And while it took her a while, she finally found the courage to take that leap of faith so many romantics love to talk about.

And she fell in love with him.

Now he's being broody and stubborn and she can't have that. She could only handle one thing at a time and last she remembered, being stubborn was her forte.

"You can talk about it, you know."

"I'm sorry. I'm not ready."

Lois nodded and decided to take another approach as his third attempt to put his telescope together failed, she kneeled down besides him and handed him the part that connected the two together.

"Thanks," he said, slightly embarrassed by his own ignorance.

It's becoming pretty obvious that he wasn't going to budge on the subject so Lois let it go just this once. She just hoped that whatever it is, he would be comfortable enough to share it with her.

That's all she could hope for.

* * *

When Lois headed back into the house, her cell phone began to ring. She saw who it was on the screen and immediately answered.

"Talk to me, Chlo."

"It's a long shot, Lois, but it's the only theory I have."

"I'll take anything right now if it would make him happy again," she admitted much to both ladies surprise.

"Lois," Chloe started with that tone of hers.

Lois sighed.

Who was older here?

"You're not still flirting with him, are you?" her younger cousin inquired.

"Not intentionally."

"Lois!"

"I'm kidding – sort of. Anyway, that's not what you should be focusing about right now. About those theories of yours, what have you got?"

Chloe sighed and decided to get on with it. The reason she was being so uptight over the idea of Lois falling for Kent was because the other day, Clark had speeded to the Daily Planet and hesitantly revealed to her that Lois of the other world was Kent's girlfriend.

If she could fall in love with Kent over there, it was more than likely that Lois would share similar feelings here in their world.

She didn't want her to get hurt over someone – in a way – she already had.

That was confusing.

"Both storms hit on a Saturday night, so I'm thinking…"

"That it'll happen again this Saturday," Lois completed. It can't be that simple. A five year old could've thought of that possibility.

Chloe sighed. "It's all I got."

Lois sighed as well. She wondered maybe if there was a university out there that taught inter-dimensional theory and how it could possibly occur. She won't hold her breath but after today, she might right a book about it and sell the movie rights for a hefty price.

She shook those thoughts away.

No time for joking at a time like this.

* * *

Day Two.

Clark speeded off and stopped by the Kawatche Caves. He made excuses to stay away from the Farm as much as possible, but not long enough that it'll cause them to worry.

He couldn't allow himself to divulge in a life that truly didn't belong to him.

He couldn't do that to Kent.

Inside the caves, he wondered what his life would be like if never fell into it. Would his father still be alive? Would he and Lana have ever gotten together? Would he have ever met Lois?

Those questions plagued his mind.

Who would he be if he hadn't found it?

Clark positioned his hand on the wall and it slowly opened. He sighed in relief. Everything remained the same.

He found the key hidden safely in his room and placed it in the slot, the familiar blinding light engulfing him until he wasn't in Kansas anymore.

Standing inside the Fortress of Solitude, he felt strangely connected to it. A feeling he's never felt before in the Fortress of his world. This place made him feel safe but that couldn't be.

He hated this place and everything it represented.

"Kal-El," a voice said, startling him.

He didn't recognize it because of the tone he used.

It was… soft.

Completely unfamiliar to him.

"How can I help you, Kal-El?"

And near. The voice felt so near it's as if he was speaking right in front of him. It didn't boom across the room as it normally would, or that he was normally used to.

Normal?

Nothing about his life was normal.

Clark turned and stared into the face of a man he didn't recognize. He stumbled back, tripping to the floor as he did so.

"Who – who – who are you?"

"I am Jor-El," the holographic-like man answered automatically.

"Jo – " Clark's mouth gaped open.

It couldn't be.

"Father?"

He wasn't the cold looking man he had envisioned him to be all these years. He was an imposing figure dressed in clothing he could only surmise as Kryptonian, but there was something in his eyes that showed something different.

Sadness.

Compassion.

Love.

_It couldn't be_, he told himself over and over.

He's not real.

"I am Jor-El."

"Are – are you my father?"

"I was once," he answered as if he had gone through this before. "I'm a holographic representation of the man that was Jor-El."

"Who am I?" he asked, choking back tears.

"You're name is Kal-El. And you're the only surviving son of the planet Krypton. Your mother Lara and I sent you to a planet called Earth in the hope that you would be given a chance at life. A life we couldn't give you."

"You don't want me to rule?"

Jor-El looked confused by the question but continued nonetheless.

"You were raised by humans but you're not one of them." Clark held his breath at what was about to come. Fear that this version, no matter how kind looking he is, was the same as the figure he knew back home. "They're a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be, but they lack the light to show them the way. For this, above all, I send them you. My only son."

At this, Clark began to show his tears.

Jor-El softly added with a sadness reflected in his son's eyes. "My only hope beyond our deaths is that your home doesn't befall the same tragedy as Krypton's."

Then he suddenly disappeared, as if it was turned off.

"Who are you?"

Clark turned and faced Lois Lane at the control section looking back at him with a mixture of wariness and anger in her eyes.

"I'll say it again. Who are you?"

**End of Chapter 8**


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Clark waited anxiously and nervously for Lois to say something, but after five full minutes of complete silence, she said nothing. She stood at the base of the Fortress's control center, her eyes piercing into his as his were to hers, waiting for one of them to break.

Somehow, Clark knew it was going to be him.

"I'm sorry."

"That's not what I asked," she said in a strong tone that very much sounded like a command voice.

It never occurred to him that he would be caught red handed like this. In his mind, he came clean to her in his own volition, but now he knew that wasn't meant to be. She looked at him with an intense gaze he wasn't used to.

"How did you know?"

Lois's face remained impassive when she held up the octagonal disk in her one hand for him to see.

"The man I know isn't reckless," she said. "And neither am I."

Clark swallowed hard. He's never known her to look and sound so authoritavely when just a couple of days ago, she acted like the perfect girlfriend.

Funny and patient.

Warm and inviting.

Lois was more than just perfect; she was one of a kind.

Who knew there was so many facets about Lois Lane he couldn't see unless she wanted him to. Clark was beginning to understand Kent's words when he revealed how his and Lois's relationship began on emotionally rocky grounds.

It seemed that their friendship started out the same, but where Kent succeeded, Clark had failed.

He didn't even know what he was fighting for until it was too late.

"He's okay."

Clark noticed a tiny change in her features but even with his quick eye, it was barely noticeable.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean – I mean there are two of us."

Lois raised her eyebrows. "Two of you?" she repeated with obvious skepticism but she rolled along with it anyway.

Clark nodded silently.

"You're going to have to explain a little further or else I'm going to introduce you to an annoying family member of mine. He's called Mr. Kryptonite," she threatened in that familiar sarcastic tone he's grown accustomed to over the last couple of years.

"A week ago, you were with…" this is the part that gets awkward. "You were with your boyfriend." That felt very weird for him to say. "In Washington," he continued. "There was an electrical storm and he disappeared in it."

This wasn't any news to Lois so she shrugged it off.

"I know that. I was there."

"Right," he nodded, losing his confidence. Being around her is making him tongue-tied. "But see, something happened and he came to my world."

Lois stared at him with apprehension.

"Your world?"

"It's sort of like an alternate dimension. Where we live similar lives but make different choices."

Clark stopped to think about what he just said and it felt like a light bulb in his brain just switched on. With all his anger and envy and regret and even the hate, they were all directed to the wrong things.

Kent was right.

His inability to accept who he was and where he came from enabled him to act out in ways that caused him to make all the wrong choices; and now, he felt an enormous wave of guilt and shame at the realization.

If his father knew what he'd become, he'd be rolling in his grave right now.

Lois looked back at him in complete disbelief.

"You're from what and where?"

"An alternate dimension," he answered, his eyes beginning to brim with tears from his moment of reflection.

Lois caught the single tear that slid down the side of his cheek and she immediately calmed her features, but remained no less cautious of this stranger who looked and acted remarkably like her boyfriend.

"So let's say I believe you," she began.

"It's the truth," Clark said.

For the first time in a long time, he was actually telling the truth. Maybe it was because this Lois knew so much about him that lying seemed almost impossible. He didn't know how he held on since his arrival, but perhaps it had something to do with the way she took care of him so diligently.

"Uh huh," she agreed momentarily because there really was nothing else she could go on.

Clark sighed just as Lois continued.

"So, as you were saying, you're from this alternate dimension." Clark nodded. "So I'm assuming that's where my boyfriend is now, right?" she asked questioningly.

Clark froze for a second when heard her say 'boyfriend.' It was still strange for him to imagine them being in a very deep romantic relationship, but it felt surprisingly nice to be a part of even though, technically, she wasn't 'his' girlfriend.

"Right."

"And you expect me to believe that?"

"Do you have a better explanation?"

Clark knew she had every right not to take him seriously, but a part of him hoped she would look past his mistakes and give him the benefit of the doubt. Right now, it was all he wanted.

"Look, I'm sorry," he apologized. "It all happened so fast. My life…" he took a deep breath. "My life isn't as perfect as this place and I guess, I guess I just wanted to feel something other…" he shook those thoughts away. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I'm saying."

At this time, Lois relaxed as she watched as this person changed from one emotion to another. It was clear to her that he was just as scared and confused as she was. This is going to take some getting used to because she isn't used to seeing her own boyfriend this insecure.

Lois stepped away from the command center and strides confidently towards Clark.

Clark remained still, afraid of what might happen if he moved.

The ball was in her court.

To his amazement, she held out her hand.

"Lois Lane," she introduced herself.

A jolt of surprise passed through him. Clark certainly didn't expect this.

Slowly, he takes her hand with his own.

"Clark Kent."

* * *

Clark stood and watched in complete and utter awe as Lois maneuvered through the crystalline control center of the Fortress of Solitude. Even he couldn't figure out what she was doing.

"How are you doing that?"

"Doing what?" she asked, a holographic-like keyboard appearing in mid-air. Lois moved from the crystals and typed against the holo-keys, the screen filling up with his dead planet's native language. She started reading.

Clark's eyes grow even wider if that was even possible.

"You know how to read Kryptonian," he said in astonishment.

Lois smirks. "Don't you?"

Clark was about to reply to that when he realized she was just teasing him. He relaxed once again and watched her in awe as she later continued.

"After you told me about Krypton and your biological parents, I asked you, I mean him, to teach me. I can't run faster than a speeding bullet or jump tall buildings in a single bound, but I'm a quick learner."

Clark smiled. He didn't doubt that for a minute, and he was amazed that she would even try. The fact that she knew her way in the Fortress of Solitude as easily as she did her own apartment back at the Talon spoke volumes about her character.

He regrets not seeing it in her before, because looking back on his life and the two years he's known the Lois of his world, there were remarkably alike in many ways.

"You're just like her," he said out of the blue.

Lois looked away from the console and faced Clark, just missing what he said.

"Excuse me?"

"I said you're just like her," he repeated.

"Oh yeah," she said with a smile. "Am I as bossy in your world as I am here?"

"Of course," he replied with a chuckle. "And don't forget rude and stubborn."

"And those are just my good qualities." She exited the control panel of the console before turning to Clark with sudden seriousness. "I've cross-referenced everything I could find about alternate dimensional travel. There's nothing here."

Clark sighed. He liked it better when they were getting to know each other.

"I didn't think there would be. He went through this in my world and didn't find anything as well." He paused, realizing his stupidity once again. "I guess I should've told you that first."

Lois shook her head without pretense.

"Don't worry about it. You said your world wasn't an exact copy of ours, so there was still a chance."

"What do we do now?"

"I was actually hoping you'd know something that could help us since you're the one who hopped into my world."

"I'm just as lost as you are."

"I can't have that," she said with such finality that Clark knew she was going to find a way, no matter how hopeless their situation may seem. "You're both stuck in the wrong world. Look, Clark. You seem like a nice guy, but you don't belong here."

Her words struck him harder than she'll ever know.

"I know," he said understandingly even though it hurt him to admit it.

Lois was right.

Clark didn't belong here but part of him felt like he could really make a life here if all else fails. Again, it was a pretty selfish thought but this world that Kent built for himself was addictive.

To think, this life could've been his.

The thought continued to sadden him.

"Are you all right?"

Clark's eyes snap up to face Lois's. "What?"

"Are you okay?" she asked again, concerned. He looked shaken and his eyes showed something she rarely saw in the man she's fallen in love with.

Sadness.

"I'm fine," he lied.

"You're lying," she observed openly.

Clark let out a small smile. He should've known she'd see through that.

"You're right. I am."

There was a long pause before Clark spoke again.

"Aren't you going to ask me what it is?"

"No."

"No?"

"I figured when you're ready, you'll talk." Lois looked at him, slightly amused. "Are you ready to talk?"

Clark smiled again.

"Do you mind?" he wanted to be absolutely sure he wasn't stepping out of bounds. He's messed up too much as it is.

Lois nodded sincerely.

"Not at all."

**To be Continued…**


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Lois took the wheel while Clark sat nervously in the passenger's seat of his father's red pick-up truck. They were on their way back to the farm, and they did it in silence.

Clark didn't like the silence especially when Lois is involved.

"I said I was sorry."

Lois glanced at him oddly before giving her attention back to the road. They were only a couple of miles away from the farm.

"Were we talking about something?"

Clark breathed in deeply. "I don't think we should tell them."

"I agree."

"It'll make things – did you just agree with me?"

Lois smiled. "You sound surprised."

"Well – I am."

"What? I don't agree with you back in your world?"

"Not always."

"Hmm…" she responded thoughtfully.

Clark leaned back against the passenger's side seat, relieved that he didn't have to tell his parent's the whole story. He didn't feel that he had the strength to look his father in the eye and tell him that back in his world, he was dead.

No.

He couldn't go there.

The car suddenly slows down to a halt.

Clark breathed in again.

"We're here," she announced obviously. "Okay, so here's the plan." She paused to get ready to explain. "I don't have one."

Clark stared at her with wide eyes.

"You don't have a plan?"

Lois shrugged. "I was hoping it'd come to me on our way over, but nadda."

"And you're telling me this now?" he tells her unbelievably.

"Riiiiight. Like it's all my fault."

Clark sighed, his head falling against the glove compartment. She really is no different than the woman he knew. She's stuck up when she wants to be. She's rude. But there was something different about her. It might have something to do with the tiny little fact that he liked being around her.

"We'll just pretend we went for a drive in town," he suggests.

"Yeah, sure because there are lots of things to do there," she remarked sarcastically.

Anytime she and her boyfriend went into town, they ended up in a different state, she recalled pleasantly.

Clark glared at her.

Lois replied with a smirk, hiding what she was really feeling. The memories of time spent with her boyfriend brought her feet grounded back in reality. He was still gone and she had no clue how to get him home.

"Come on, your mom's making meat loaf. And it wouldn't hurt you if you'd hang out with them for a little bit. They were just as worried about you as I was."

A pang of sadness hit Clark. He hadn't told her yet that his father was dead in his world, and he was going to keep it that way. He didn't want anything bad looming over this family's future even if it may not come to pass.

Clark grabbed a hold of her hand.

"Wait!"

Lois stopped and turned to him. "It's gonna be okay," she assured, squeezing his hand ever so slightly.

"Maybe we could just hang out in the barn."

Lois raised her eyebrows. "You're parents would want to see you," she pressed lightly.

Clark sighed. "I know, I'm just – I'm just not ready to see them again."

"Did something happen?"

"No," he answered a bit too quickly.

"You've been jumpy since we left the caves," she observed keenly.

"Things are just different here."

"I know," she nodded. "You told me. You don't like your powers. You don't trust Jor-El. There was a second meteor shower and you're obsessed over some Lana chick."

"I'm not – I'm not obsessed with her!"

Lois wasn't buying it.

"Oh, you're not."

Clark rolled his eyes. "It's complicated."

"Obviously," she said, crossing her arms.

There was something enjoyable about making this Clark Kent uncomfortable. It amazes her how different this guy is from the man she's fallen in love with. Whereas her boyfriend was naïve in an endearing way, the Clark before her was naïve to a fault.

She's learned a lot about him from his reality, but she noticed that there were things he didn't want her to know.

Personal things.

She understood his need for privacy even if it was about a world she'll never see, so she let him reveal anything to her in his own time.

All she needed to do now is get him to relax, and maybe, just maybe, they'll find a way to bring her boyfriend back.

* * *

Lois awoke the next morning hearing a bustling sound downstairs. She stayed at the farm with Martha and Kent – truthfully, mostly for Martha and a little bit for Kent.

Hurriedly, she got properly dressed and sprinted downstairs.

As soon as she was halfway down the steps, she saw the living room in disarray. It wasn't a big old mess but it wasn't as tidy as it normally was. The couch was moved. There were papers everywhere.

Where's Kent?

Suddenly, she felt a gush of wind touch the back of her neck. She turned to find an exhausted looking Kent by the doorway.

"Hey," she said.

Lois didn't know what else to say.

"I can't find it," he said, looking very upset.

Kent strode back into the living room and started to go through everything again that it left Lois completely confused.

"You lost something?"

Kent looked at her without really looking at her.

"It was mine. I had it with me and now it's gone. I can't find it anywhere." He moved to the window. "I had it with me right here a few nights ago," he said in a panic-stricken voice.

That's when she realized what it was he could be looking for.

"What is it?"

"It's – " he started hesitantly. "It's a photograph. It means a lot to me." He sighed, falling back against the window and sliding down to the ground. He covered his face hoping to mask his emotions. "It's the only thing I had that was mine."

Lois felt remorse for having kept it for as long as she did. It was just; it was still hard for her to believe that they were such good friends let alone anything more. And she still wasn't sure whether or not Kent and her other self were even involved in that kind of way.

She slowly walked towards him, removing the photo she kept to herself in the back pocket of her jeans. When he made no move to look up, she sat on the floor directly in front of him; her legs crossed Indian-style.

"You mean this."

Kent looked up and saw the photograph she was holding out to him. He slowly took the photo from her hand and stared at it.

It was the photograph he had thought he lost forever.

Kent looked back at her with a clearly surprised expression.

"How did you – "

"Find it?" she completed. "The night Clark disappeared."

"You've had it all this time?"

Lois's eyes darted away from him briefly, a flush of red and embarrassment making waves all around her.

"I'm sorry. I should've given it back."

A moment of complete silence passed between them.

"She's my girlfriend," he revealed.

Lois didn't seem surprised.

"I kind of figured," she said which was then followed by a chuckle. "I can't say that I'm jealous. I mean – she's sort of like me, right?"

"More than you know."

"Well, isn't this awkward?"

Kent smiled.

* * *

"That was awkward," she said to Clark as they climbed up the steps to his loft inside the barn.

"I'm sorry for putting you in that position. I can tell you don't lying to my parents," he expressed with genuine appreciation.

"Look. Clark. I don't know exactly what kind of life you led have led up to this point, but I can tell that whatever it's been like, you're hurting because of it. I'm sorry I'm not going to be a lot of help with that."

Clark smiled. "He loves you, you know."

Lois smiled. "I know."

"He talks about you all the time. I didn't know it was about you at first, but I got the signs. To be honest, half the time he was there, I was jealous of him. Jealous that he had everything I've ever wanted."

Lois looked at him and his situation as objectively possible. She's come to terms that alternate universes existed, so now it's all about figuring out what to do next that has her mind running on overdrive.

"You make it sound like everything is pitch perfect between us."

"Isn't it?" he argued.

"We have our disagreements."

"I have a feeling that he'll move a mountain for you if you asked."

Lois blushed slightly. "No, he wouldn't."

Clark's hand found its way hovering close to her cheek.

"Why not? I would," he said softly.

Lois took a step back and Clark felt like a jerk for making a move like that.

"I'm sorry," he apologized.

It just happened.

"It's okay."

"No, it wasn't. Having heard so much about you from him. Seeing the photo of the both of you in Chicago – "

"He still has that?" Lois asked surprised.

Clark chuckled before continuing. Obviously, Kent can still surprise her even after everything she's seen.

"This world is addictive."

"But it isn't perfect," she pointed out. "No world is perfect. We have our share of problems here but instead of running away from it, he faces it head on. Something that you made aware that you don't do."

Clark looked away, ashamed.

"But he has the advantage."

"And what's that?"

"You."

Lois closed her eyes. He he shouldn't be thinking of it that way.

**To be Continued…**


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Well, that's strange."

Lois relaxed against the chair she had been sitting in after spending hours upon hours in front of the computer screen. She'd been researching any kind of weather-related phenomena all night.

"What is?"

Clark stepped into his room dressed in sweat pants and a white crew-neck t-shirt with a towel draped around his neck. He slid it off and placed the towel atop his bed. Lois turned to give him a pointed look.

"Don't put it there."

"Sorry," he replied sheepishly.

Isn't this his bed?

Clark spent the last couple of days with Lois researching the strange events that led him and Kent to travel between dimensions. He made a conscious effort to avoid, or at least, spend as little time with his parents as much as possible because he knew that it'll be harder for him to leave if he allowed himself to get too close.

He also noticed how very comfortable Lois is around the house, not that it was that big of a surprise, but since she and Kent were involved, he noticed other things.

Like his drawers for example.

Two of them were filled with her clothing. Even his closet was filled with her clothes and he wondered just how far their relationship has gone in this world.

Clark sat at the edge of the bed as he watched Lois hard at work.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Hmm…" she responded.

"I said, can I ask you a question?"

Lois stopped and turned to him.

"What is it?"

"It's kind of personal."

Lois grinned. "I didn't expect it not to be."

Clark sighed, growing more uncomfortable by the minute. The question has plagued his mind longer than he wanted it too. Even before this whole alternate dimension dilemma happened.

Finding the courage to ask it, he opened his mouth to say it.

"It's – it's about you and Kent."

Lois blinked a couple of times. Getting used to the name change, but in order to keep them apart, she had to go along with it.

"What about me and Kent?"

"I noticed that – " his voice trailed to complete silence.

Lois raised her eyebrows. Amused. She got an idea of what it was he wanted to ask and she was having a hell of a time letting him drown in his thoughts and nervousness because of it.

"I don't – I don't really know how to say it," he added apprehensively.

Lois smiled, holding in her laughter as she did so.

"Just say it."

"You and Kent – "

"Uh huh," she waited.

"You know what. Nevermind," he said backing out.

Clark stood up and moved to stand by her side, looking at the screen and checking out what she found. Lois turned her attention to the screen as well, hiding the smirk in her face.

After a moment…

"Yes."

Clark turned to her, startled.

"What?"

"The question you wanted to ask. The answer is yes."

Clark didn't know what else to say. A part of him is relieved that he was capable of going there but then another part of him ached at the possibility that he won't be able to find the kind of 'love' that Kent obviously found with her.

"And my parents are okay with that?" he asked a little too boldly.

Clark should've kept his mouth shut.

Lois chuckled and then stopped, looking guilty.

"They don't really know."

Clark's eyes widened.

Lois rolled her eyes. "We spend a lot of time together. And while I'm all for good Midwestern values, there are just some things that can't be waited on."

She laughed as Clark's mouth literally dropped and his eyes glancing to the left and back very quickly.

"Relax, Clark," she added with a pat to his back. "Nothing other than sleeping happens in this room. Your parents have an uncanny ability to appear when we least expect them to."

Clark remained speechless and Lois took pity on him.

"All right. My turn. I've been meaning to ask you, what am I like in your world?"

He's caught off guard by the question.

"My world?"

"Yeah," she nodded. Anxious to know what he thought of her alternate self. She was curious to know what differences and similarities they had.

Clark shrugged. "She's kind of hard to describe," he reveals disappointedly.

She nodded, but she was still very curious.

"I don't care. Just say what you think," she insisted.

"We're friends, but, I don't know. She doesn't really talk about herself. There's her dad and sister. Her mom died when she was six."

Lois looked at him sadly. "I was hoping that was one similarity we didn't share."

Clark winced. Feeling guilty although he was unsure as to why. And then he realized what it was. While he felt jealousy for all the things that Kent had, Lois selflessly hoped that her other self was just as happy, if not more, than she was. It was at that moment that Clark felt like a complete and total jerk.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault."

"I know, it's just – " he sighed. "I can't help it," he said, continuously amazed at how understanding she is.

Lois smiled to relieve the awkward tension. "What about school?"

"She dropped out."

Lois laughed.

"That's not funny. She's waiting tables and serving coffee," he explained in simple detail.

Lois ignored him and continued to smile. "Believe me, if we're anything alike, she'll grow out of that."

"How can you be so sure?" he asked, astounded. "You don't even really know her."

"I'm just saying."

A long silence followed, and there has been something that he has wanted to tell her for days now.

"I never apologized to you."

Lois looked at him with confusion.

"Apologize for what?"

"When I first arrived – for however brief it was – I let myself go with you and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have misled you in believing I was him."

Clark looked away, unable to look her in the eye. Being in this world had forced him to look at his life in a way he has never had to before. For almost two weeks he had done nothing but compare his life to Kent's, and what he saw disappointed him.

Above all that has happened in his life, the only thing that kept him from moving forward was fear.

Fear that he'll be alone.

Fear of loss.

Fear of the unknown.

Fear of the father that gave him life.

Fear.

One word that held so much meaning for him. It shaped every choice he's made since discovering that he wasn't human. And now, he was ashamed to admit…

He was wrong.

With his eyes still away from hers, he says, "I have to get back. I shouldn't even be here in the first place."

Lois's expression softened as she watched his demeanor change. At first, she saw a scared boy afraid to see past the possibilities, apologizing for a need he's craved for his whole life.

And now… she saw the boy desperate to be the man he knows in his heart he can be.

Lois smiled, having been through this before with her boyfriend. She took his hand with hers and held it assuringly.

"Just remember – that whatever happens – you're not alone."

Clark inhaled deeply. "You know. I'm starting to really believe that."

* * *

Martha suddenly pokes her head inside Clark's room.

"Hey you two. Dinner's ready."

Lois and Clark exchanged smiles.

"We'll be right there," he replied first.

With his hands stuffed in his pocket, Clark shyly walked out of the house and into the barn where he found his fa – Jonathan – working on a piece of heavy equipment. He cleared his throat nervously to get his attention.

Jonathan looks up.

"Son. Is everything okay?"

"Yes." Then a beat. "No," he said, voice hoarse and barely audible. "There's something I need to tell you."

_45 minutes later…_

He looked down and stared into the cup, at the fragment of reflected light on the surface of the hot chocolate, and felt his hands start to shake. He wished now that his mother hadn't brought it.

Jonathan remained silent before him as soon as Clark finished his story.

About everything.

Who he is.

Where he came from.

From the second meteor shower that hit Smallville to his own father's death.

Everything.

A quickening sound filled his ears from within his own body and he set the cup on the floor, hands shaking even worse now. He couldn't look at Jonathan. Not without being reminded. He couldn't look at anything. Clark bent his head, pressed his palms against his eyes, and finally wept.

"Son," Jonathan whispered, tears brimming in his eyes.

Clark felt his hand on his shoulder but he refused to look at him.

"I'm not your son."

"Whether in this world or the next, you'll always be my son," he said soothingly, hoping to quell his own burgeoning desire to weep as openly as his son is doing right now.

"You're gone because of me," he cried.

"No." Jonathan shook his head and willed his son's face up with his hands. "No!" he said strongly. "It's not your fault."

Clark's tears were falling freely from his eyes now.

"I should've listened. But I kept running away. I kept making bad choices."

Jonathan pulled him in and held him tight. "I love you, son!" he said in a whisper. "I'll never leave you. Dead or alive. I'll never leave you."

"I'm… I'm… sor… sorry!"

"Shhh…" he rocked them both back and forth. "It's not your fault," he repeated. "Now say it with me, son."

Clark cried harder in his embrace.

"I'd die for you, Clark. There's no doubt in my mind. Now say it."

"It's… not… my… fa… fault…"

Jonathan nodded. "It's not your fault."

It's not his fault.

**To be Continued…**


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The following day, Clark spent time with Jonathan, telling him all the things he didn't get the chance to tell his father when he was alive in his world. He left no stone unturned, not many people get this kind of second chance, and this was his.

"I know I shouldn't say it, or even feel it, but it seems so unfair."

Jonathan rests his hand on Clark's shoulder.

"I've lost two fathers. One I loved very much and another I never knew. And now I'm going to lose you again when I go back. How is that right?"

"I don't know, son," Jonathan said honestly. "Life is about change, and I'm sorry I can't be there with you to go through it, but I'll always be a part of you. Forever. No matter what."

Clark nodded, he felt a mixture of sadness and acceptance course through his mind and body.

"I love you, dad."

Jonathan pulled him in another hug.

"I love you too, son."

_Following Evening_

It's Saturday night and he could feel the temperature outside drop. From the couch, he woke up and looked to the window to see the sky drape a blanket over the farm in complete darkness.

Clark got up and moved slowly to the window, droplets of rain hitting the glass.

He didn't know how he knew…

But it was coming.

* * *

Kent's eyes shot open as he felt a pair of warm hands nudging him awake. He turned to find himself staring at Lois.

"Is something wrong? What is it?"

"I think it's happening," she said in a lowly voice. She pointed outside. "Look."

Kent got up and rushed to the window with Lois close behind. Even in the darkness, he looked out and saw the clouds form heavily around each other in the sky. He turned to Lois with surprise.

"How did you know?"

She shrugged. "I didn't. It was just a hunch."

Kent looked back outside.

"Hell of a hunch."

Lois forced a weak smile. "I guess this is it, right?"

Kent looked at her with all the admiration and love she knew she wasn't quite ready to see, but he did so anyway. He held out his hand and softly held her cheek. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

She wasn't entirely sure what it was she was really sad about.

Next thing she knew, he leaned in and kissed her cheek.

"Take care of yourself, Lois."

Lois breathed out and straightened her thoughts.

"You too."

"Will you tell Martha goodbye?"

Lois smiled. "You never had to ask."

Kent smiled in return. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck."

Kent puts on his shoes and headed out the door. Just as he was halfway to the field, Lois called out to him.

"Kent, wait!"

He stopped and turned, the pouring rain drenching the both of them out in the open.

"Yes?"

A small smile crept up to her lips.

"If you don't mind. Could you bring back Smallville for me? Life wouldn't be the same without him." What is normal, anyway?

Kent chuckled, giving her a slight bow forward which was followed by a salute with his two forefingers.

"Consider it done."

Thunder boomed forcing Lois to close her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, Kent was no longer in front of her.

* * *

Clark opened the door of his bedroom to find Lois sleeping soundly in bed. He smiled just looking at her and hoped that one day he could find love the way Kent found it in her.

"Things will be different," he whispered.

He closed the door quietly, inhaling deeply as he did so, and sped out of there when he sensed that it was time.

When he reached the fields where he had found himself a week ago, the sound of thunder and lighting came together, as an electrified bolt of light struck him down.

* * *

Lois – looking completely drenched and cold from head to toe due to the rain – waited. She watched as the sky played a symphony of colors. It was like nothing she'd ever seen before, and she's seen a lot.

Lightning hit the ground and it startled her to the point that she nearly fell backwards.

* * *

Kent looked around confused.

He was still in the fields of the Kent Farm. The sky had cleared of any rain and when he saw that nothing happened, his heart sank.

For a moment, he actually believed he would get home.

* * *

Lois blinked a few times before taking a few steps forward. In the distance, she saw movement in the stalks. Trying to clear her vision, she saw a man step out, and for a moment, her heart sank at the thought that he didn't make it home.

"Kent?"

He stopped in his tracks when he saw her.

A beat passed before a smile appeared on his face when he realized who she was.

Suddenly, he found himself running up to her, taking her in his arms and telling her how good it was to be home.

Lois was so shocked by it all that she froze on the spot.

"Huh?"

* * *

Kent walked numbly towards the house when his line of sight caught a familiar item sticking out of his bedroom window.

If it was possible for a heart to stop, his did right then.

He swallowed hard before willing his feet to move forward. Opening the door, he saw Lois nowhere in sight. He slowly made his way inside, climbing the steps carefully. When he reached his room, he turned the knob ever so slightly and once it cracked open, and the vision the lay before him made his heart stop once more.

"Lois," he said softly.

Asleep in his bed was the most beautiful person he's ever seen. She looked so peaceful like that.

Quietly, he moved to remove his damp clothing and changed quickly into a pair of sweat pants and a plain t-shirt. Kent didn't want to wake her, feeling completely content just watching her.

He walked to the other side of the bed, carefully sliding himself underneath the blanket besides her. When she stirred slightly, for a moment he thought she would wake up.

But she didn't.

She remained asleep and Kent couldn't help but be near her. Scooping her in his arms, he finally let out the breath he'd been holding since he opened his bedroom door.

He was finally home.

* * *

Mrs. Kent handed both Lois and Clark another cup of hot chocolate as her son relayed what happened in the past week in Kent's world. They had been talking for the last several hours. It was practically morning now.

"It felt so surreal being there."

Lois and Clark kept minimal eye contact with each other, something Martha noticed once he began to speak. She knew that the past couple of weeks had been emotional for all of them, but she noticed a great shift in the way Lois and Clark were around each other now.

Martha was unsure whether it was a good or bad thing.

She hoped the former.

"I don't know exactly how I knew to get back home, but I did," he said with a light smile. "I'm just glad to be back."

While a part of him longed to have Kent's world, Clark knew that he had to start making the right choices instead of the easy ones. He couldn't afford to run away anymore.

Then Martha sat beside him and held his hands with her own.

"I'm glad you did," she said, pulling him in her embrace.

This was Lois's cue to leave. As quietly as she could, she got up to leave mother and son alone, stepping outside for some much needed air now that the miraculous storm had disappeared.

She sat down on the top step and crossed her arms; a chill running down her spine. It was close to six o'clock in the morning. After a moment, she shook slightly when she felt something warm drape around her body.

"Here," Clark said covering her with a blanket from behind.

He moved next to her and sat down, unsure of what to say. It's been a long couple of weeks and at the moment, the two friends were content to just relax.

Almost.

Lois looked at him without his jacket on and smirked. He must be made out of leather or something completely alien to withstand the cold air this early.

"Thanks."

Clark smiled. "How are you?"

She shrugged. "Fine." She paused. "You?"

"Good," he nodded, clasping his hands together.

"Does this feel weird?" she asked.

Surprised that she brought it up first, he nodded. He had wondered if they were going to tip toe around the events of the past couple of weeks.

"A little." A beat. "What do you want to do now?"

Lois raised her eyebrows at the question. It was something she hadn't had the nicest answer to but since he asked…

"I'm gonna forget that I ever met him."

Clark is surprised by this.

"Why?"

"Because in my world, he's not real," she said forlornly.

Lois picked herself up, handed Clark back his blanket and went inside without another word.

Clark looked down at his hands for a moment and thought about what she said.

"But he can be," he said to himself. He raised his head and looked at the sun creeping up towards the horizon. "Because he's me." He sat in silence, the skies clear and the sun shining down on him with warmth and light.

_In the Other World_

Warm.

Safe.

That's what she felt as a long pair of strong arms were wrapped around her. Then she felt a light kiss against the crook of her neck, causing her eyes to shoot wide open.

"Clark?"

Confused, she flipped her head around, her hand making contact with the side of his head and she flinched back in pain.

"Ow!" she said, waving her hand.

She looked at her bed companion with uncertainty.

Clark chuckled, massaging the part of his head that met with Lois's reflexive hand.

"It's good to see you too."

"Clark?" she repeated, looking at him carefully. It was hard to physically distinguish the two. Actually, it was damn near impossible when the two looked the same. How did he…?

She opened her mouth to say something but closed it instead.

"Hi honey," he said with a smile.

"Is this real? Are you real?"

"Oh I hope so." He pulled her in for a deep passionate kiss, putting everything he's felt for and missed for the last couple of weeks in it. "God, I missed that."

"Oh my god," she whispered.

Clark smiled happily.

Then…

Slap!

"What was that for?" he asked, taken aback. Then, when he least suspected it, Lois fiercely kissed him back.

"Don't ever jump dimensions on me again," she threatened lightly.

Clark chuckled in her kiss.

"Yes ma'am."

It's good to be home.

**The End**

**Author's Notes**: Well, it was a wild ride. Thank you everyone who's kept with me through all these chapters. This story was never meant to be dragged out. And while I'm all for Lois and Clark to get together, in context to the story, they weren't ready. Hoped you enjoy.


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